Over the Ocean and Back
by VBloodmoon4
Summary: Alice Turner is a second year at Hyotei. She is an American who travels oversea every year to attend school in Japan. She's a member of the school's dismal bowling team and becomes the captain after the previous captain quits. Her new leadership role puts her in direct contact with the student council president: Keigo Atobe. Atobe x OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello readers! Another Atobe fic but this one will involve AtobexOC. I was inspired to choose an OC from across the world because I was recently oversea and it's crazy how much things change going back and forth. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PoT or any of its characters, but Alice is someone I created!**

The Atobe mansion was a grand place filled with wonderful things. There were crystal chandeliers, royal carpets, winding staircases, and richly varnished wood trimmings. The outside of the mansion was just as impressive as the inside with a luxurious in-ground pool, private tennis courts, and a long driveway that twisted around a magnificent fountain. The servants of the mansion were trim and proper, wearing crisp black uniforms with snow-white gloves. The young master, Keigo Atobe, was proud of his surroundings as he was the king and it was his castle. His parents were rarely home and spent a lot of their time in England and other European countries doing business for the Atobe company.

Atobe remembered growing up in England and some of the memories weren't exactly happy. He had attended the King's Primary school in Britain and was constantly picked on. Looking back on it he assumed that most of the others were jealous of his money or that they picked him out because he was Japanese. In truth, Atobe was not entirely Japanese as English blood also flowed in his veins. The only real friend he had in England was Kabaji who had also attended the same school and then transferred with him to Hyotei Gakuen in Japan. Atobe started playing tennis as a young boy and worked hard to achieve the level of skill he now had. He had suffered many defeats on his journey to become king of Hyotei but now he was virtually untouchable.

Atobe had a rigorous and rigid schedule that he followed each and every day. His morning started at 6:00am where his alarm woke him up so he could go to breakfast that his servants prepared for him. After eating the young master would go for a morning run on the grounds of the estate and then take one of the horses from the stables for a ride. He would then return to the mansion and head for the driveway. A limousine was always waiting out front to take him to Hyotei where he would arrive for morning tennis practice that he only attended the second half of.

"Good morning," coach Sakaki said to the tennis captain as he walked toward the school's purple tennis courts.

Atobe nodded in response, "Good morning."

The air was cool and still slightly foggy from the early hour. Atobe inhaled deeply and looked to the courts where he saw his teammates practicing. He gave the coach another nod before taking his leave.

"Atobe-buchou!" Akutagawa cried out with a grin; waving.

Atobe smirked slightly, "I trust you're doing all you can to prepare for our next match?" he asked everyone.

The various members glanced at each other and then back at their captain, all nodding.

"Excellent, during our afternoon session we will be working on endurance. Some of you need to put some more effort into this as it's your prime weakness."

Mukahi's eyes shot to the ground and he frowned, knowing perfectly well that the comment was somewhat aimed at him. Oshitari put a reassuring hand on his doubles partner's shoulder.

"We all have things we need to work on," Oshitari told him.

The morning practice continued and ended after a few practice matches. The boys trudged to the locker room where they showered and put on their Hyotei Gakuen school uniforms. Atobe pulled a bottle of expensive cologne from his bag and sprayed it on himself with a satisfied smile. He eyed himself in a nearby mirror and marveled at the way his hair was so perfect that day.

Atobe traveled to his first period science class with a smug expression and sat down at his desk, adjusting his tan Hyotei uniform jacket. He reached up and checked his burnt orange tie; making sure that it was tight and straight. The teacher began the morning class and Atobe paid strict attention. His grades were top notch and he was naturally intelligent, but he still always remained engaged in class. The teachers thought he was a bright young man and enjoyed having him in their school.

Atobe breezed easily through the morning and found himself sitting in the student council room in his presidential chair. He had eaten his lunch and was preparing for a meeting with the captain of the bowling team. Atobe chuckled at the thought since he really didn't see how bowling was a sport. He had met with the captain previously who was a nerdy and fidgety boy with no coordination. The tennis captain drummed his fingers impatiently on the smooth wooden table in front of him.

"When is he supposed to be here?" Atobe asked his secretary with an annoyed voice, "Ore-sama is busy."

She looked down at her planner quickly, "It should be any second!"

Atobe let out a huff and glared at the door into the student council room until it swung open. He opened his mouth to begin scolding the boy for keeping him waiting but paused when he laid eyes on a dark haired brunette. Atobe blinked in confusion and turned to his secretary. She looked at him helplessly and shrugged.

"Who are you? Ore-sama has an appointment," Atobe questioned.

The girl walked in and sat down in the chair adjacent to Atobe and across from his secretary.

"I _am_ your appointment," she stated bluntly.

"You aren't the bowling team's captain."

"I am now."

The room was silent and Atobe frowned at the girl who stared back at him with lavender eyes.

He swallowed, "Okay then, what are you here for?"

"We need new uniforms," she replied in a matter a fact tone.

Atobe's eyebrows shot up, "Ore-sama is not allowing a team with no real standing to get new uniforms. Is that really even a sport?"

The girl scowled, "It is, and I want the new uniforms. We wear the school shirts from class because we don't have any."

Atobe pondered momentarily and then spoke, "I can't agree to this, uniforms are a big investment."

"You don't have any trouble investing in the tennis team," she snapped.

Atobe stopped and stared, "I'm sorry, what's your name and what class are you in?"

"I'm a second year, class 2-A, seat number 4," she replied hotly, "My name is Alice Turner."

Atobe observed her skeptically. He had never really seen her around and noticed that her Japanese carried a bit of an unusual accent.

"Allow Ore-sama to watch one of your practices. If you are deemed worthy, you will receive new uniforms."

"We practice at the alley down the street after school," Alice said, "Do what you want, but don't disrupt us."

Atobe watched as she stood and briskly left the room; her skirt swishing behind her. He glanced down at his watch and decided that there was enough time between school ending and tennis practice that he could make it to the bowling alley. There was no student council meeting that day so it was perfect to head out after class let out.

….

The final bell rang and Atobe left his sixth period Geometry class quickly. He made his way to the student council room and gathered a small stack of paperwork that he needed to look at later. As he made his way out of Hyotei's front gates he looked right and then left, frowning. He had never been to the bowling alley and had no idea which way it was. Atobe strode up to his limo and his driver opened the door for him. The tennis captain slid in and crossed his arms as the driver sat down in front.

"Take Ore-sama to the bowling alley."

The driver looked at the boy in his rearview mirror in confusion.

"Sir?"

"Just do it."

The driver nodded and the car began to move. In seconds they were in front of the alley and Atobe opened the door as his driver rushed around to him.

"Be here in time to take me back to school for tennis at four."

The driver nodded, "Yes, of course."

Atobe watched the car leave and turned to the doors of the alley. He entered and his onyx eyes darted around until they landed on a familiar person. He quickly walked down to the end of the lanes of the alley and called out.

"Ore-sama has decided to grace you by coming here. Let's make this quick."

Alice stared back at the student council president incredulously and the other bowlers looked at her meekly.

"Is this co-ed?" Atobe asked, glancing around.

"No, there's a boys team and a girls team, but our matches are at the same times and places."

"Where's the boy's captain?" Atobe asked.

"He quit," Alice stated.

Atobe grimaced, how on earth did she expect him to grant this train wreck of a team new uniforms?

"Sit there or something, we're starting."

Atobe scowled at her order and sat down slowly in a chair that was just off of the wooden lanes. He stared at their odd shoes and his frown deepened as he watched several members lifting one of their feet up and wiping the bottom of their shoe with their hand. The lanes turned on and Alice began calling out names and assigning them to lanes. She spaced the members out so there were two per lane and she was directly in front of Atobe. He let out a huff and leaned back in his chair.

"How is this athletic? They're standing around and throwing a ball down at some pins… classless," he grumbled, feeling like his time was being severely wasted.

The crashing of falling pins boomed loudly and Atobe's eyebrows shot up as he watched teammates giving Alice high fives. The king blinked and leaned forward, wanting her to do it again while he was actually paying attention. Once her partner had gone Alice picked up her ball and walked to the dots, bending her knees slightly with the ball poised to throw. She took four smooth steps and threw the ball. Atobe watched with surprise in his features as the ball rotated vigorously down the lane, causing it to hook toward the pins. It hit them square in the pocket, causing another explosion.

"Nice one Alice! How are you so smooth? I don't even hear your ball land on the lane when you throw it!" once of the female team members said.

Alice smiled and shrugged, "Practice I guess."

Atobe could instantly tell she was on another level compared to the others. No one else could make the ball hook to the pins and they seemed uncoordinated as they stumbled up to the line.

"She throws faster and harder than most boys."

Atobe turned in his seat quickly to see a middle-aged man looking down at him.

"I understand you're the student council president? I'm the bowling coach. I don't know much about the technical aspects… I was asked to take the position because there was no one else. I guess my biggest goal is to support the kids. Alice is a big help, she tries to work with everyone."

Atobe swallowed dryly, "I see… pardon me for asking, but if she's so good and the rest of the team is so horrible…" he trailed off.

"Luckily," the coach cut in, "In bowling there are single and team events, so Alice can move on in tournaments and in standing as an individual bowling in singles."

"Hmm," Atobe hummed out, wondering how it compared to singles and doubles in tennis.

"We really do need uniforms, they don't need to be expensive, just something that will make us look like a team," the coach said.

Atobe glanced down at his watch and realized his driver was probably outside to take him to tennis. He stood and adjusted his tan Hyotei jacket.

In a low voice he spoke to the coach as he started walking away, "Ore-sama will see what can be done."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, however, Alice is someone who I created.**

"Wow! Real uniforms!"

The bowling team arrived at practice a couple of weeks later to find cardboard boxes full of new uniforms waiting for them. Alice grinned from ear to ear as she handed out the purple and white polo shirts that said Hyotei Bowling on the back with the crest of the school on the front. Alice watched her teammate's glowing expressions and knew she had someone to thank.

…..

They next day Alice made her way to the student council office during her lunch break. She pushed open the door and found Atobe flipping through a stack of papers with a distasteful expression. His dark blue eyes shot up to meet hers and she smiled.

"Thank you for the uniforms, they're much appreciated."

Atobe waved her off, "It was nothing for Ore-sama."

Alice shrugged, "Okay, but still, thank you."

"You owe Ore-sama a favor."

Alice froze, "What?"

"Teach me about bowling."

"What?" Alice repeated, and asked, "You want me to teach you to bowl?"

Atobe ran his fingers through his hair, "Ore-sama wants you to explain the game."

"Um, okay, when?" Alice questioned in shock.

"After tennis."

"Today?!" Alice exclaimed.

"Ore-sama went through so much trouble to get you those uniforms…" he trailed off with a pained expression.

"Okay, okay, but not for long, I have homework you know," Alice told him.

Atobe nodded, "Good, now leave, Ore-sama has work to do."

Alice's jaw dropped at his blatant rudeness but she did what she was told after sending him a venomous glare.

….

After bowling practice was over Alice remained at the alley. She pulled out some of her math homework and sat down at one of the tables to work. An hour passed and she glanced up to see Atobe striding her way with a blue polo shirt and black slacks on. Alice looked down at her t-shirt and shorts with a small frown.

"Ore-sama has arrived," Atobe announced proudly.

"I wasn't aware I needed to dress up," Alice stated, staring at Atobe's shining dress shoes.

The tennis captain replied simply, "I'm not dressed up, I'm casual."

"Business casual," Alice grumbled.

Atobe crossed his arms, "Let's start _coach_," he said with an amused smirk.

"Well, you don't have shoes or a ball, so you'll have to borrow from the alley."

Atobe glanced at the racks of rough and worn looking alley balls.

"I have to use a ball that hundreds of people have had their dirty fingers in? And shoes others have _worn_?"

Alice stared at him with her jaw open slightly, "Unless you can make a ball and shoes appear out of nowhere."

Atobe looked pained and his eyes darted around helplessly until they landed on the pro shop that was down at the other end of the bowling alley.

"Ore-sama will show you a magic trick."

Alice stared after him as he walked away, pulling a wallet out of his pocket. He was gone for over half an hour and Alice sat back down; continuing her math homework.

"A ball and shoes… out of nowhere," Atobe proudly told her as he placed the newly purchased items on the table.

Alice looked up in shock, "You've never bowled before, and you just bought two hundred dollars' worth of equipment?"

Atobe shook his head, "Actually five hundred, the ball was the newest model and the shoes are the best they had. He also drilled the ball for a perfect fit!"

Alice leaned forward and stared at the new ball; her face fell.

"I can't believe it, this is the new ball I've been wanting but I can't afford it!"

Atobe shrugged, "If I don't like it you can have it."

Alice sighed at a loss, what an arrogant guy. She stood up and motioned to the lane where her balls were already on the rack.

"Why do you have four of them?" Atobe questioned as he placed his ball next to hers.

"For different lane conditions, they are for heavy, medium, and light oil conditions. The fourth is my spare ball," Alice explained as she pointed to each one.

"Spare ball? Oil? Don't you know that Ore-sama is a _tennis_ player? Explanations for this are required."

Alice took a deep breath and began thoroughly explaining spares, oil patterns, types of balls, and technique. Atobe listened in silence, shocked that there was so much to a sport he didn't even consider to _be_ a sport.

"Bowling is a mental game, you have to have a strong mind. It's also physical, throwing that 15 pound ball doesn't get easier as matches go on. You get tired and it becomes harder to be precise with your movements. You can miss your mark on the lane or put poor rotation on the ball as your fingers and wrist fatigue," Alice continued.

"It seems a bit similar to tennis, with the exception of _running_," Atobe emphasized skeptically.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Think what you want. I run to keep in shape, it gives me the stamina I need. I also lift weights for arm and leg strength to get extra power."

"You should come to Ore-sama's gym sometime, it's fabulous and state of the art," Atobe proclaimed.

"What?" Alice said in English in shock.

Atobe's eye brows shot up, "I suspected Japanese wasn't your first language. Where are you from?"

Alice listened to his clear and smooth English accent as he spoke to her.

"I'm from America," she said, "And you?"

"I grew up in England," he replied, "But I can speak German, English, and Japanese. My language prowess is remarkable."

Alice found herself rolling her eyes again.

"Do you live here now?" Atobe asked.

Alice shook her head, "I stay in Japan during the school year, but on breaks I go home."

"We can speak in English to one another from here on out. It's refreshing! It can be our secret language," he winked at her as he grabbed his ball and walked up to the lane for his turn.

Alice gaped at him in utter shock. She then wrinkled her nose as she watched him throw the ball roughly down the lane. It slid off to the side toward the gutter and only hit the ten pin. Atobe froze at the line, staring down at the nine pins that stared back at him. He turned to glance over his shoulder at Alice.

"That was a flawed throw, it won't happen again," he told her shortly.

Alice shrugged, trying to fight the grin spreading across her lips.

"Now you can try again," she pointed up at the score board showing it was still his turn.

Atobe stared at the ball return with a determined and serious expression. His ball shot through the hole and rolled onto the rack. The tennis captain took a deep breath and picked it up. He turned to the lane and began to make his approach for the second time. Alice put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh that slipped out as Atobe's ball flew into the gutter. He swung around to face her with a scowl.

"That's ridiculous! My prowess is above this!" he growled out.

"Your prowess for bowling doesn't exist," Alice told him, "You can't be good at everything."

"Is that a challenge?" Atobe questioned seriously.

"Uh… no?"

Atobe pointed at her, "Teach Ore-sama to bowl properly!"

Alice looked down at her shoes and back up at the tennis captain, "Aren't you a little busy already?"

Atobe walked toward her and sat down in one of the chairs, "It's true that I have a full schedule, but I can always make room for something else."

"What if _I_ can't?" she asked him.

"Are you unwilling?"

"Well no, that's not it."

"Then it's settled, you shall teach me and I'll give you whatever you want in payment," Atobe announced.

Alice stared at him, aghast, "I don't want you to _buy_ something for me!"

Atobe rolled his eyes, "It's nothing really."

"Well I don't want anything."

Atobe shrugged, "We will meet one time per week on this day at this time."

Alice nodded slowly, "I'd better write that down or I'll forget."

Atobe leaned over her shoulder and glanced down at her planner where she flipped to the date of the next week, writing him in. Atobe's eyebrows shot up as she shut the small book and there was a picture of a horse on the front.

"Do you ride?" he asked her.

"At home I do. It kind of stinks when I'm here because I don't get to," Alice replied, sliding the planner into her book bag.

Atobe snapped his fingers, "I'll allow you to ride at my personal stables as payment for lessons."

Alice looked astonished, "Really?" as a smile spread across her face.

"It's nothing," Atobe tossed his head.

The pair ended up bowling a couple of games before Atobe announced he needed to leave so he could go to his personal gym and then return home for dinner. Alice waved as he left in his limo and picked up her things to prepare for her walk home. Her bowling bag which had wheels on it rolled behind her and her backpack sagged on her shoulders as she walked down the sidewalk. She made her way across Tokyo to her apartment that she lived in alone. It was getting dark and she turned on a light inside by a desk against the wall. She pulled out her school books and with a sigh set in on doing her school work before eating and going to bed.

….

"You're learning to _bowl_?" Shishido asked with a skeptical look, "Is that even a sport?"

Atobe tossed his head, "Ore-sama isn't sure yet."

"Chotaro, do you know this girl?" Shishido asked his doubles partner.

Ootori looked pensive and said, "I've seen her around, she's in 2A and I'm in 2C, so it's not like we have classes together."

"What about Hiyoshi or Kabaji, they're both second years," Shishido muttered, looking around through the misty morning air.

"Isn't the bowling team atrocious?" Mukahi asked, "Why would you want to spend time with a member of _that_ mess of a team?"

Atobe gave his fellow third year a harsh glare before walking away toward Oshitari, Akutagawa, and Hiyoshi. Shishido gave Ootori and Mukahi a questionable look.

"Who is this girl? Buchou never gets up tight about anything…" Ootori trailed off, glancing over at the other side of the courts.

"Perhaps we should investigate," Mukahi said mischievously with a grin.

Shishido looked over at Ootori who had quit paying attention and smiled.

"Chotaro, you're a second year, find out who this girl is that he's learning to bowl from."

"I don't even know her name! How can I find her?" Ootori asked.

Kabaji walked up to the trio and stared blankly at them.

"Kabaji! You _have_ to know, you have tea with Atobe-buchou every day!" Mukahi exclaimed.

"Who is the girl he's learning to bowl from?" Shishido questioned with intent eyes.

Kabaji was silent and there was not a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Ootori sighed in and Shishido scratched the back of his neck in defeat.

"I believe I can be of some assistance."

"Yushi!" Mukahi exclaimed.

Oshitari adjusted his fake glasses, "Her name is Alice, but that's all I can tell you."

Shishido pointed at Ootori, "Do you know a girl named Alice?"

Ootori pondered, "No, I don't think so."

"Let's get the student directory and look!" Mukahi exclaimed.

"Atobe won't be pleased," Oshitari noted.

"Maybe they're just friends…" Ootori suggested.

Mukahi rolled his eyes, "Atobe-buchou ignores girls who fawn over him all the time. He could have anyone he wants. For him to spend time with someone like that means there's something else going on."

Shishido nodded, "I agree, now Chotaro, you need to find a second year named Alice, alright?"

Ootori gave his partner a small smile, "I'll do my best."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! But Alice is someone I created!**

After morning tennis practice was over Ootori walked through the halls of Hyotei as second years bustled around by their lockers to get their things for class. He looked at each girl, having no idea who he was looking for. Ootori let out a heavy sigh and frowned, how on earth did Shishido and the others expect him to find someone he knew nothing about? Sure, he knew her first name, but it wasn't like the students wore name tags and he wasn't about to go around asking every girl her first name. They would think he was a total creep and he wasn't going to put himself on the line like that. The fact that this girl was in 2A and he was in 2C presented a problem because they weren't in class together; however, it automatically eliminated the girls present in his class. His eyes landed on a familiar person and teammate.

"Wakashi!" Ootori waved at the fellow second year and childhood friend.

Hiyoshi closed his locker and gave Ootori a small nod in response. He turned around with his books under one arm.

"What is it? I have to get to my homeroom," Hiyoshi stated impatiently.

"Ah, right," Ootori said uncomfortably, "But I have a question to ask."

Hiyoshi was silent and waited for Ootori to continue.

"Do you know a girl in class 2A named Alice?"

Hiyoshi looked thoughtful for a few seconds and shook his head, "No, I'm in 2F, how would I know her?"

Ootori shrugged, "I'm trying to find her, so if you run into someone by that name, please let me know!"

Hiyoshi watched bizarrely as Ootori took off in the direction of his own homeroom.

….

Ootori watched the board as the teacher wrote notes and he let out a sigh.

'I can't ask Kabaji, he won't tell me anything especially if it involves Atobe-buchou,' he thought.

The bell rang for lunch and Ootori gathered his things; headed to the lunchroom where he saw Shishido and Mukahi already sitting down at a table together. He trudged toward them with a disappointed face and sat down.

"No luck?" Shishido questioned.

"I even asked Hiyoshi and he didn't know," Ootori said with a downcast expression.

Mukahi chuckled, "How would he know? He scares all of the girls with that serious expression he always wears."

Shishido hummed as he stared pensively at the far wall of the lunchroom, "We have one last resort."

Ootori and Mukahi both looked to the third year, waiting for what he was going to say.

"Come on Ryo! Spit it out!" Mukahi said, fidgeting.

"We follow him."

Ootori and Mukahi both stared at Shishido in disbelief. Oshitari sat down at the table and looked at his teammates who all appeared to be frozen.

"Ah… what's happened now?" he asked as he pulled his lunch out.

"Shishido-san wants us to follow the captain to find out who this girl is!" Ootori answered, still staring at his doubles partner.

Oshitari smiled, "That could be interesting."

"We need to know when he has these _lessons_," Mukahi interjected, "We can't be constantly following, he'll catch on!"

"Correct," Oshitari nodded.

"Who can get away with asking him something like that? He'll definitely know if it's me since I made fun of him this morning," Shishido told them.

Mukahi snapped his fingers, "Jiro can do it. He idolizes Atobe-buchou, he would never suspect him!"

"Where is he?" Ootori asked.

"Probably sleeping in one of the empty classrooms," Oshitari replied.

"It's not a big deal, Jiro's in 3C just like me, I'll say something to him in class this afternoon," Shishido announced.

"Nobody speaks a word of this or Atobe-buchou will find out in a heartbeat," Mukahi said.

The tennis players all nodded in agreement and continued eating before heading to their afternoon classes.

…..

"Jiro, _wake up."_

The third year stirred in his slumber and lifted his head sleepily. His eyelids drooped and they popped open when he saw Shishido's face inches from his own.

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"Ssh! Be quiet, I have to make this quick before class starts," Shishido hushed him.

Akutagawa stared at his teammate with a somewhat alert expression.

"I need you to ask Atobe when he goes to the bowling alley."

Akutagawa wrinkled his brow in confusion, "Why?"

"Because it's very important, can you do it today at practice and tell me what he says?" Shishido asked.

Akutagawa leaned his chin into the palm of his hand, "I guess so, but what's this about?"

"I'll tell you when you tell me what he says," Shishido answered.

Akutagawa shrugged, "Okay."

Shishido's expression dropped as the blonde haired boy's head fell ungracefully back onto his desk. Shishido shook his head as he instantly heard a small snore coming from his friend.

….

"Atobe-buchou! That was _awesome_!" Akutagawa exclaimed in excitement as he watched his captain perform his Tannhauser serve.

Atobe soaked in the praise from his teammate and grinned, "Behold my prowess."

Akutagawa began clapping enthusiastically and Atobe puffed his chest out proudly. Shishido looked over to the adjacent court and bounced the ball in his hand a few more times before serving it to Ootori.

"Come on Jiro," Shishido mumbled under his breath, watching the messy blonde haired boy from the corner of his eye.

Atobe and Hiyoshi continued their practice match and on the other side of Shishido and Ootori were Oshitari and Mukahi.

"Ryo's getting mad," Mukahi smirked as he watched his childhood friend's growing irritation.

"He needs to be patient or we will be found out," Oshitari stated, hitting an oncoming ball back at his doubles partner.

"Jiro can be a little air headed though, maybe he's already forgotten," Mukahi suggested.

Oshitari shrugged, "It's possible."

Evening practice drew to a close and the tennis team members retreated to the locker room and packed up their things. Shishido could barely contain himself as he watched Akutagawa napping on one of the benches next to the lockers. He squeezed his fists and hissed through his teeth. Ootori put a hand on his partner's shoulder and gave him a desperate 'please calm down' look. Shishido instantly shrugged him off and walked slowly toward Akutagawa. Atobe was talking to Kabaji about what he was going to be doing at his personal gym that night and Shishido was positive he was thoroughly distracted. The cap wearing third year lifted his leg and gave the side of the bench a swift kick which sent Akutagawa bolting straight up with a yelp. Atobe paused and glanced over at the other two third years and frowned. Akutagawa looked up at Shishido who glared heatedly down at him and his eyebrows shot up in realization.

"Atobe-buchou!" he called out, "What days do you go to the bowling alley?"

Shishido mentally slapped himself, could Jiro be any more _obvious_? Atobe looked to Shishido and then back to Akutagawa. He smirked and threw his tennis bag over his shoulder.

"Nice try, but you'll have to do much better than that to outsmart Ore-sama," Atobe winked at Shishido.

The tennis team members watched him exit the locker room and then they all stared at each other.

"Jiro!" Mukahi cried out, "What were you doing?! Aren't you capable of being crafty?"

Akutagawa shrugged, "I guess not."

….

"48, 49, 50," Atobe grunted out as he bench pressed.

He sat up slowly and wiped his forehead with a towel. He threw it over his shoulder and stood up, glancing around at all of the weight machines in his gym. He had completed his evening workout and was ready to return home to have dinner. He exited the gym and slid into his waiting limo. As the car moved he stared out the window at the darkening sky with a frown. Once he made it back at his mansion he sat down for dinner which was served on expensive tableware. He ate slowly and once he was finished he headed out to his personal tennis court for some light training. The sun had long set and it was nearly 10:30pm when he made his way back inside to take a shower. Atobe put on a cream colored fuzzy bathrobe and his butler approached him with a tray. He bowed and Atobe gratefully took the glass of non-alcoholic champagne. He sipped on it happily and turned on his iHome where his iPod began playing his favorite, the classical melodies of Wagner. Atobe sank down onto his bed and sipped the champagne with his eyes closed in relaxation. He pulled out a few homework assignments and easily completed them before turning his music off and going to bed.

…

"Alice! Wait up!"

Alice paused as one of her classmates ran after her in the hall before morning classes.

"Thank you so much for letting me use your notes!"

Alice smiled, "It's no big deal."

Alice entered her homeroom and the door closed behind her.

"I've found her!" Ootori exclaimed with excitement as he peered around the corner.

He charged down the hall until he spotted Oshitari in mid stride about to enter his classroom.

"Oshitari!" Ootori cried out, waving frantically.

The dark haired tennis genius paused and stopped walking.

"Ootori?"

"I've found her! The Alice girl!"

"Really now…" Oshitari trailed off.

"Too bad I can't tell Shishido-san since he's already in class, he'd be glad!"

"You can tell him at lunch, I'll see you then," Oshitari nodded in parting as he walked into the classroom.

Ootori nodded with a grin, feeling proud of himself.

…..

"Atobe-sama!"

Alice turned around to see Atobe and a tall second year trailing after him with an expressionless face. She couldn't believe how the girls crooned over him. Sure he had money, but he was an arrogant egomaniac. He looked at her and she instantly stepped back, hitting her locker. Atobe smirked and started walking in her direction.

"Would you like to come to Ore-sama's stables tomorrow morning?"

Alice stared at him in disbelief, "In the morning?"

Atobe nodded, "It would be approximately 7:30 since Ore-sama runs at 7."

Alice's jaw dropped, "I live across town, it would be hard for me to get up that early and walk all the way over."

"Walk?"

"I don't have a car, and I'm obviously not old enough to drive," Alice answered.

"Tch."

Alice pursed her lips, "Not everyone is rich like you, I can't have whatever I want."

"Ore-sama will send a driver to get you."

"Absolutely not!" Alice exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not having you send a driver to my apartment to bring me to your house at 7 in the morning!"

Atobe let out a huff, why did she have to be so stubborn? It wasn't like it was _her_ money, it was his and he could do whatever he wanted with it.

"Besides, I haven't given you your first lesson yet, so there's no need."

Atobe thought for a moment, "Perhaps this weekend then… that way you could get there however you pleased."

Alice shrugged, "It's up to you."

"Then here," Atobe whipped out a small card and held it out to her.

Alice slowly took it and stared in shock at the business card that had his name, the Atobe company's logo, and his phone number on it.

"Don't call the number on the front, that's Ore-sama's business phone, I wrote my personal cell on the back."

Alice flipped the card over to see fancy cursive writing that gave his number in elegant script.

"How many numbers do you have? Ten?" Alice asked sarcastically.

"Ore-sama carries five mobile devices with him at all times," Atobe answered proudly.

Alice's jaw dropped, "_What_?"

Atobe nodded and explained, "I have one phone for international calls, another for family calls that can take video, two for regular use, and a backup."

Alice shook her head, he was exhausting to be around.

"Now then! Kabaji, it's afternoon tea time, I must look at some student council reports as well… Let's go!"

"Usu!"

Alice watched as he walked away with Kabaji trailing on his heels. She looked back down at the card in her hand and let out a tired sigh. He was an overwhelming.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to AcceleratorCupcake for the reviews, you are awesome! Now on with the story!**

**Also, when Atobe is speaking English later in the chapter, I have taken out the 'Ore-sama's' because if he was speaking English he obviously wouldn't be saying that in place of I. So that's why they are not present later in the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Prince of Tennis or any of its characters! Alice is someone that I created.**

Alice stared at her cell phone. It was Friday evening and the weekend was just over the horizon. She looked out her bedroom window at the setting sun and hesitantly pulled out the business card that read 'Keigo Atobe'. She punched his number into her flip phone and held it up warily against her ear.

"This is Keigo Atobe speaking," came a smooth voice on the other end of the line.

Alice slumped down against her bed's headboard.

"Hi Atobe, it's Alice Turner…" she trailed off awkwardly.

"Calling about spending time with me this weekend, ahn?"

Alice's mouth dropped, "No!" she sputtered then paused, "Well, yes, I guess I am…"

"Excellent, tomorrow morning then?"

"What is it with you and mornings?" Alice asked, "I'm more of an evening person."

Atobe let out a sigh, "If you say so I suppose we could do early evening."

"That's better, it gives me more time to get over there, you'll have to tell me where you live."

"If you would accept Ore-sama's offer of a driver you wouldn't have an issue," he told her.

"I don't want you to do anything, I'll get there on my own," Alice replied shortly.

"Fine."

Atobe gave Alice his address and told her to show up at 4pm. She took down the information on a notepad and hung the phone up. Alice didn't like to admit it but she was feeling quite nervous about going to Atobe's. He was rich and on top of the world whereas she was an average girl that was strapped tight for money. Why was he paying attention to her? There was no way that she had more to offer him than the crooning rich girls at school. Alice decided to pull out her science book and do a weekend homework worksheet to take her mind off of the tennis captain. Once she finished her work she turned her light out and went to sleep.

…

Atobe stared down at his watch as he looked out one of the front windows in his mansion. He stared down at the winding driveway and fountain that had cascades of water falling down it.

"Where is that girl?" Atobe grumbled, looking at his wrist again to see it was 4:15.

A few more minutes passed by before the buzzer in the house went off letting him know that someone was at the gate. He saw his butler press the intercom and the Atobe heir motioned at him to open the gate. The butler did as he was told and then opened the front door so Atobe could exit the mansion.

"Tardiness is unbecoming of you," he said in English.

Alice walked down the drive and heard Atobe's booming voice as he stared at her from the front of his enormous estate. She couldn't help but drop her jaw slightly at the size of his home. Atobe walked up to her and met her at the fountain.

"I'm sorry, I ran into some delays on my walk."

Atobe pursed his lips and stared down at her, noticing she was clutching a pair of riding boots.

"Let's go, and our language today will be English, as I've said before, it's refreshing for me."

Alice silently agreed and followed him across the grounds until they arrived in front of a stable. She could hear neighs coming from the inside and her excitement instantly grew.

"I will give you your choice for a mount."

They entered the stable and the smell of hay and leather hit her nose. She inhaled deeply and was instantly calmed as the smell reminded her of the stable she rode at back home. Alice watched Atobe as he approached a stall where a glorious white stallion was peering out at them.

"With the exception of this one, he's mine."

Atobe was wearing black riding pants and boots with an off white silk shirt. He watched her with curious onyx eyes, waiting for her to make her choice. Alice glanced around, noticing there were five other horses.

"Um, I'll take that one," she pointed at a dark chocolate bay that had a white star on its forehead.

"Alright, follow me," Atobe motioned.

Alice trailed after him and they stopped in front of a door at the other end of the stable.

"I have a climate controlled tack room," he winked, opening the door.

He handed her a lead rope and halter and grabbed one of each for himself.

"Grab that grooming bucket for me," he pointed at a green tub containing brushes and grooming tools of all sorts.

Alice did as she was told and followed him back out into the main stable.

"You know how to do all of this, correct?" he asked her skeptically.

Alice scowled at him, "_Yes_."

"Then go ahead," he nodded and turned away from her.

Alice tossed her head and approached the stall containing the horse she had chosen. She noticed that it was a mare and slipped the nylon halter over her head. Alice clipped the lead rope on and pushed the stall door open. She led the horse out into the stable and stopped her between two hooks on the wall for cross ties. Atobe watched her from the corner of his eye and he smirked as he watched her hook the horse up. He led his own horse to the opposite end where there were another set of cross ties. Alice grabbed a rubber curry and began brushing her horse down. After she finished she switched to a soft brush and then grabbed the hoof pick out from underneath Atobe's hand as he was reaching for it.

"I was going to use that."

"There's another one right there," Alice pointed, walking away.

"Tch," Atobe huffed and grabbed the second pick.

Alice methodically picked each leg up and dug out the rocks and dirt in her horses hooves in a matter of minutes. She dropped the pick back into the bucket only to see Atobe struggling to get his horse to lift his foot.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Atobe looked up, his face red from bending over, "I'm _fine_, I usually don't have to do this, the grooms do it."

"Squeeze his chestnut," Alice suggested.

"His _what_?"

Alice shook her head and walked over, "Move."

Atobe stepped back with a baffled expression as Alice bent over. She reached to the inside of the horse's front leg and squeezed an upraised circle. Almost instantly the horse took his weight off of that foot and allowed Alice to pull it up. She held her hand out and looked up at Atobe.

"Give me that."

Atobe hesitantly handed her the hoof pick and watched as she dug the debris from the stallion's foot. She moved to the back leg, then to the other front, and then to the last back leg.

"There! All done!"

Atobe frowned, "I usually don't do this dirty work, the workers do. I ride them and brush them down before and after, that's all."

Alice shrugged, "I'm not judging you."

"At least tell me you can tack them up…" she then trailed off.

"Of course! I'm not an imbecile!"

Atobe stormed off toward the tack room and Alice followed. They entered the room once again and Atobe grabbed an English saddle that was hanging on a rack on the wall. Alice paused and stared at the collection of saddles.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"These are all English saddles…" Alice trailed off.

"So?"

"I prefer Western."

Atobe rolled his eyes, "Of course you do… you're American after all," he sarcastically.

Alice glared at him and he pointed to a lump with a white sheet over it.

"There's one, no one ever uses it, so it's covered to keep the dust off."

"Thank you," she smiled, throwing the sheet off to reveal a shiny Western style saddle.

Alice grabbed a bridle off of the wall they were hanging on and followed Atobe back into the stable. They both tacked their horses quickly and mounted up.

"We'll go to the trails," Atobe announced as he set off at a fast gallop over the green grounds of the estate.

Alice's eyebrows shot up in surprise as he took off and she urged her horse forward to follow him.

….

"That was great!" Alice exclaimed as they walked back to the mansion after their ride.

Atobe shrugged, "My prowess on a horse is exceptional."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Whatever, you can't even pick their hooves!"

"Grooming has _nothing_ to do with being able to ride!" Atobe spat back in an offended tone.

They paused in front of his front door and Alice gave him a smile, "Thank you, I really appreciate it. I miss getting to ride when I'm here since I can only do it at home."

Atobe nodded, "It's my pleasure, and I expect a fantastic lesson next week."

Alice smiled sheepishly, "I'll do my best."

She turned around and began walking down the long drive to start her journey home. It was nice to be able to talk in her native language and as an American, she found Atobe's English accent when he spoke to be completely intriguing; she never grew tired of hearing it.

Atobe watched her walk through the open gate and noticed that the sun was almost below the horizon. They had been out a few hours and it was late evening now as the sky darkened. Atobe's eyebrow twitched and he let out a grunt as he swung around and entered his mansion.

"Michael, get me the driver," he ordered his butler.

The butler bowed and picked up the telephone. In moments the limo rolled up to the front door and Atobe exited his estate.

"Leave and turn right, we're looking for a silly girl walking home in the dark," Atobe commanded.

The driver did as he was told and turned the limo right on the road. They only drove for a few minutes before Atobe spotted the figure he was looking for trudging down the sidewalk holding her riding boots.

"Pull up beside her."

The limo was brought to a halt next to the girl who looked up in confusion. Atobe opened the back door and pointed to the interior.

"Get in."

Alice's eyebrows shot up, "What are you doing?"

"You don't need to be walking across town in the dark. I wouldn't feel comfortable knowing that I let you leave my house to do such a thing."

Alice opened her mouth to disagree and Atobe cut her off, "I won't take no for an answer, and if you don't comply, I'll put you in the car myself."

Alice's jaw dropped and she wordlessly slid into the vehicle. Atobe sat down next to her and crossed his arms with a victorious closed lipped smile.

"What are you so happy about? I didn't need you to do this, I walk home all of the time. I've done it years before I met you."

Atobe didn't reply and instead said, "Tell the driver your address."

Alice complied and the panel between the driver and the back slid open. She told the driver where she lived and then sat back down next to Atobe awkwardly.

"The lesson had better be wonderful, as you've cut into my gym time," he told her with a small smirk.

"It's not my fault! You're the one who insisted to take me home! You didn't have to!"

"Calm down," he waved her off.

They sat in silence until they arrived at Alice's apartment complex. The limo came to a stop and the driver walked around and opened the door.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it? You'd still have quite the walk ahead of you if it wasn't for Ore-sama," he spoke in Japanese.

"Thanks," Alice muttered back.

She waved as the limo pulled away and turned to enter her apartment.

….

"That's 30 laps around the courts."

"_What_?!"

Shishido, Mukahi, and Ootori stared at their captain in disbelief.

"I know what you three were up to. Trying to delve into my personal affairs, ahn?" Atobe asked the trio.

"He was in on it too!" Mukahi pointed at Oshitari who feigned innocence.

"You all had better start running or you won't finish in time to start our morning session," Atobe pointed at them.

"Damn it!" Shishido bit out as he started running.

Ootori followed after his doubles partner and Mukahi glared daggers at Oshitari. Akutagawa marveled at his captain's leadership skills and Hiyoshi rolled his eyes. He knew that Ootori had been up to something when he had been asking him about some random girl. After 30 laps the three tennis players were sweating and huffing as they came to a stop in front of the others.

"Good, now let's begin practice," Atobe practically purred out.

They groaned in response and picked up their racquets.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Again to AcceleratorCupcake, you rock! Glad you like it, I have way too much fun with Hyotei, love the team members! If it isn't obvious, Shishido is my second favorite on the team… he's so cool! :D**

**To : Thank you for your reviews as well! And the photo is from Google, I just scrolled until I found one I liked, and I saw this one and thought it was really cool!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters! However, Alice is someone that I created!**

Alice was halfway through the next week of school and realized that she had her bowling session with Atobe that evening. She stared at her planner in front of her and blinked at his name which was penciled in. She had not seen the student council president since Saturday and had honestly forgotten about him with school and bowling practice going on. It was lunch time and she sat with her fellow female bowling team members at a lunch table.

"Our first match is tomorrow, don't forget!" she told them, "Make sure you have your new uniforms and that you're there about a half an hour before the match starts."

"We won't forget," her fellow second year teammate Keiko winked.

Keiko Nakamura had been Alice's closest friend at Hyotei and she spent most of her time with her as she was also a member of class 2A. She had shorter black hair with big brown eyes. Alice liked Keiko because she was a feisty and bordered on being a complete tomboy. She wasn't afraid of what others thought and did her own thing.

"What the heck?" Keiko suddenly blurted.

Alice looked up to see Atobe strutting toward their table with Kabaji behind him. He halted with his hands on his hips and his nose in the air.

"Hello," he spoke in English, "I trust you haven't forgotten about our scheduled meeting after I'm finished with tennis practice today."

The entire table went silent and stared at Alice in surprise.

"No, I haven't, I'll see you then," Alice answered with a small smile.

"Good," he returned to Japanese as he started to walk away, "Ore-sama will see you later then."

Alice instantly felt burning glares boring into her from all directions. Girls from other tables were hissing to each other with scathing expressions.

"Oh, I don't think they like you right now…" Keiko mumbled.

Alice shook her head, "I'm not going to worry about it."

…..

Later that day Alice was walking down the hall when she saw a large group coming toward her. She recognized them as some of the girls who had been glaring at her at lunch. She paid no mind to them and continued forward with her eyes down to the floor.

"Stay away from Atobe-sama!" one of them exclaimed as she got closer.

"Loser," another spat, "You don't deserve to be in his presence!"

Alice starting walking faster so she could get by the group and gasped when she suddenly tripped. She threw her arms out to catch herself and winced when all of her weight slammed down on her right wrist. Her knees hit the hard floor and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly as pain shot up her right arm. The girls above her laughed loudly and sneered at the fallen brunette.

"Idiot!"

"Don't go near Atobe-sama!"

"Pathetic!"

Alice didn't move until she heard the group continue down the hall. She slowly sat up and looked at her palms which were bright red from bracing her fall. Her knees were also red from the hard floor and she let out a sigh. She was definitely going to be black and blue the next day. Alice tried to flex the fingers on her right hand and let out a small gasp as sharp pain shot up to her elbow. Her heart started pounding and she felt panicked.

"No, no, no!" she mumbled quickly, "I can't be hurt, I have my first match tomorrow!"

…

"Ore-sama has arrived!"

Alice looked up to see Atobe stride into the bowling alley holding a bag containing his ball and shoes. The tennis captain waited for a snide remark and then looked at the brunette to see an upset facial expression.

"What's wrong?" he asked, placing his things on the table she was sitting at.

"I have my first bowling match tomorrow," Alice said quietly.

Atobe frowned, "Well that's good, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to be able to bowl."

Atobe's onyx eyes stared in shock at the girl in front of him.

"I'm also not going to be able to do this after today. I can't risk getting hurt again, my team needs me."

"Hurt?" Atobe questioned, slightly confused.

"Your fan girls tripped me today and I fell really hard, I sprained my wrist," Alice answered dryly.

Atobe instantly noticed the black splint that she was wearing and he crossed his arms; not really sure what to say.

"I know it's not your fault, but I can't risk getting ambushed and hurt again. I need to be able to bowl, without me, my team is doomed. Now for the first match I'm sidelined and we only have 5 girls including me. There are no subs, so we have to take zeroes because I can't participate."

Atobe scowled, he was wanted to tear into the girls who had done such a rude and immature thing. At the same time he felt guilty. He knew what it was like to be a necessity for a team. He couldn't imagine not being able to play in a match and watch his team suffer while being unable to do anything.

"I can talk you through a lesson today though," she gave him a small smile.

Atobe clenched his fist as he watched her awkwardly place her pen down. Her writing on her homework was incredibly sloppy because she was unable to flex her wrist to write.

"Unbelievable," he growled under his breath.

…..

"Sorry I couldn't lead by example," Alice half joked as they walked out of the front door of the bowling alley.

"You're instructions were very clear, Ore-sama had no trouble at all," Atobe replied.

"Good."

Atobe halted in front of his limo and turned to look back at the girl behind him.

"Let me give you a ride home."

"No, I think it would be better if we kept our distance from each other for a while," Alice shook her head.

Atobe frowned deeply, growing angrier every second at the girls who had caused all of this. He watched her wave and start walking down the sidewalk. He slid into his vehicle and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. It was true that Atobe enjoyed his popularity, but sometimes it was a pain which caused unnecessary trouble.

…

"How's your bowling game coming?" Shishido asked with a smirk as Atobe walked by him the next morning at practice.

Atobe scowled with an unhappy look on his face and continued moving.

"What happened to him?" Shishido asked, "I was just kidding, jeesh."

"He seems really upset," Ootori frowned, watching his captain's back as he walked away.

"Atobe."

The captain paused to see Oshitari giving him a serious look, "Did something happen? You have a very sour look on your face."

The other regulars took small steps toward their captain in an urgent effort to eavesdrop. Atobe's eyebrow twitched at how obvious they were and he clenched his jaw.

"Tell us buchou!" Akutagawa urged, "We don't like seeing you like this!"

Atobe sighed, "The bowling captain was injured by a group of girls yesterday and now she can't bowl in her first match."

Mukahi's eyebrow raised slightly, "What does that have to do with you?"

"It was probably his obnoxious psycho group of fans," Shishido said.

"What happened?" Oshitari pushed.

"They tripped her so she fell on the ground at school and she sprained her wrist because they saw her talking with Ore-sama."

"That's not your fault," Hiyoshi piped in.

"I can see why he would feel guilty," Ootori sympathized.

"Enough of this!" Atobe exclaimed, "Continue with the drills!"

"Yes," they all nodded, walking back to their respective courts.

….

"Okay everyone, I'm obviously not going to be out there with you tonight. But if you need help, don't hesitate to ask… do your best!" Alice told her team as the lanes turned on.

They split up and went to their lanes where their names were displayed on the scoreboard. Alice stared up at the blank section in their rotation and let out a sigh. She reached down and ran her hand over the soft brace on her wrist. Her eyes shot to the carpet where her bowling bag was laying and she gritted her teeth.

"Coach… I want to try and get through this match."

The bowling coach froze and stared down at the girl staring up at him with burning lavender eyes.

"Alice, that's not a good idea, you need to let that wrist heal!"

"I can't let my team down, please let me!"

The coach swallowed, "I don't like it… but if you insist, I suppose I can't stop you. But you have to promise me that if it begins to get too painful you'll stop. Don't push your limits or your recovery time will get longer and longer."

Alice gave her coach a grateful bow, "Thank you!"

She walked briskly to her bowling bag and started to unzip it.

"Are you bowling?"

Alice looked up to see Keiko staring down at her.

"I am, will you add my name in the blank spot on the last lane?"

Keiko nodded slowly, "Be careful Alice, don't hurt yourself."

Alice gave her a smile and started to put her bowling shoes on. She tied them and reached for her bowling balls with both hands. She winced as she tried to pick one of the balls up with her right hand.

"What are you doing?"

Alice froze and she gulped, "Atobe?"

"You're going to _play_?"

"I'm not arguing with you, and why are you here? Shouldn't you be working out in your gym or something?"

Atobe pursed his lips, "I'm here because I felt I needed to be. It's partly my fault you're injured."

"Well I'm going to push through this, I'm not going to let my team bowl a man short."

Atobe let out a sigh, "You're so stubborn, but don't cause irreparable damage to yourself."

Alice rolled her eyes and reached down with her left hand to pick the ball up. She decided that the only time she would use her right would be to throw the ball. Lifting the ball off of the rack and out of her bag she'd use her left to conserve the right wrist as much as possible.

"Give me that."

Alice's eyebrows shot up as Atobe took the ball from her and grabbed the other one in her bag. He walked away from her and to her lane where he placed them on the rack. The tennis captain returned and grabbed the remaining two and taking them to her lane as well.

"Thanks…" Alice trailed off.

"Practice time starts now," a voice boomed over the intercom.

Atobe's eyes shot to Alice's, "Don't overdo it, from what I've seen you don't really need practice anyway."

"I need to throw at least one before the match starts. I have no idea how this will feel."

Atobe crossed his arms and watched as Alice approached the lane. The opponents were already flinging balls down the lane and high fiving each other. It was then that he noticed they were bowling against the Fudomine bowling team. Atobe smirked, thinking of how he would love to crush them in tennis. He saw Alice throw her ball and he wrinkled his nose. She wasn't her usual balanced self and the ball clunked as it hit the wooden lane.

"Her wrist strength is nonexistent," he mumbled, noticing how her wrist didn't hold the ball up and there was no rotation on it.

Alice turned around with a discouraged expression and shook her head in disappointment.

"This isn't good, she shouldn't be out there," the coach mumbled from beside Atobe, "But the team is everything to her, I couldn't say no."

Atobe turned around and walked away from the scene with a deep frown on his face. He approached the bar where food and drinks were served and tapped his fingers on the wooden countertop.

"Can I help you?"

"I need a bag of ice, and Tylenol if you have it."

"We have Tylenol in the pro shop where they sell the balls and shoes, but I can get you the ice here."

Atobe waited until a zip lock bag of ice was handed to him. He nodded in thanks and quickly made his way down to the pro shop. Inside he walked to a section containing Motrin, Tylenol, liquid band aid, and other remedies for injuries. He grabbed a pack of Tylenol and paid for it quickly before walking back toward the bowling match that had started. The parents and fans for both schools were cheering on their players and the alley was loud with shouts and clapping.

"Alice-," Atobe started to say before the coach turned around from where he was standing.

"Sorry, the players can't communicate with spectators, it's against the rules," he told him.

Atobe tossed his head, "That's ridiculous, then here, give her these."

The coach's eyebrows went up in surprise as Atobe shoved a bag of ice and a pack of Tylenol into his hands.

"Thank you," he nodded with a small smile.

Atobe crossed his arms and watched carefully as the coach handed Alice the items. She looked up at him and gave him a small smile, mouthing 'Thank you'.

The match wore on and Alice's discomfort grew more evident every time she touched the ball. Her throws were weak and her wrist was pounding with pain that went down to the tips of her fingers and back up to her elbow.

"Isn't there a way she can stabilize that better?" Atobe asked between games when the coach wandered close to him.

The coach looked thoughtful, "Well, she used to bowl with a brace that had a metal plate in the back of it to keep her wrist straight. It's used as a training tool until you don't need it anymore. I'm not sure if she still has it."

"That would be better than that soft thing she has on."

"Check her bag," the coach told the tennis captain as the next game started and he moved back down onto the lanes.

Atobe turned and rushed over to Alice's bowling bag where he started unzipping every pouch he could find. There was a large pocket on the front of the bag where she kept her shoes and Atobe unzipped it to find a mechanical looking brace inside. He lifted it and saw that there were screws in it which allowed the wrist to flex but not extend outward. He quickly returned to the lane and handed the device to the coach who then passed it off to Alice. She stared down at the brace in confusion and looked up to see Atobe giving her a serious glare. Reluctantly, she put it on and continued with the rest of the match.

…

"You're a moron."

Alice shrugged, "Maybe, but I made it through the match, even though I had a below average performance. It's still better than my team taking a zero for me."

Atobe stared down at her swollen wrist that she was holding the melted ice bag on and he huffed.

"You aren't to do anything with that until it heals."

"Okay _mom_," Alice said sarcastically.

"Tch! Don't get smart with Ore-sama. I tended to you in your time of need," he winked at her.

Alice felt herself blushing, "Ah, yeah, thank you for that."

"Your determination and drive for your team is impressive," he complimented her.

Alice shrugged, "They're important to me and I couldn't let them down."

"Will you allow Ore-sama to take you home? You're in no condition to carry a backpack and drag that bowling bag down the side of the street."

Alice let out a defeated sigh, "I suppose."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, but I did create Alice!**

A few weeks passed after the bowling match and Alice and Atobe had grown to be regular acquaintances at school. They usually saw each other a couple times a day and she had to admit he was pretty interesting even if he was extremely obnoxious sometimes. Her wrist had healed but she was still being cautious and wearing her old brace to make sure she didn't put too much stress on it too soon. Atobe watched her injury like a hawk and was constantly questioning her about it.

"Have tea with Ore-sama this afternoon."

Alice turned around to see Atobe looking down at her as she sat at her lunch table. A few girls at the neighboring tables turned around with scowls and Alice instantly shrank.

"Don't worry about them."

"When did you want to do this?" Alice asked slowly.

"After school of course. I have a student council meeting today and afterwards I always have tea with Kabaji," Atobe replied.

"I have bowling practice," Alice told him with a frown.

"You should be resting that wrist, you're so close to being healed, take a day off," he told her with a charismatic grin.

"Would you take a day off of tennis?"

Atobe paused, "Well… no."

"Exactly."

"Tch," Atobe huffed and then said, "Speaking of tennis, Ore-sama has watched your bowling matches so it only seems fair that you observe some of Ore-sama's tennis matches."

"You want me to watch you play tennis?" Alice asked, kind of surprised.

Atobe cleared his throat, "Of course… my prowess is quite a spectacle, it's intoxicating really."

Alice fought the urge to roll her eyes, "Alright, when?"

"Friday."

"Is it here?" Alice pressed, needing a bit more information.

"Yes, it's against a lower level team. They'll be crushed," Atobe smiled proudly.

Alice nodded, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I'm finished at practice that day."

Atobe's expression fell and he let out a sigh, there was no use in arguing with her.

"Don't you have work to do or something? You used to be so busy during lunch time, now you come and talk to me every day," Alice said.

Atobe glanced over his shoulder at Kabaji, "Ore-sama completed his duties quickly and efficiently already, right Kabaji?"

"Usu!"

"Bye, bye," he waved at her as he left the lunch room.

…

"I'm taking this off this evening," Alice said on Friday as Atobe stood next to her locker.

School had let out and Alice was preparing to head to the bowling center for a short practice.

"You're the only one who knows when it's time. But don't be an idiot, if it starts hurting, quit."

Alice rolled her eyes, "You're so worrisome when it comes to sport related things."

"Of course, now Ore-sama must be off, his team is waiting on the courts. Finish and get there as soon as you can," he winked as he walked away with his tennis bag slung over his shoulder.

…

"I think it's completely healed!"

"Don't overdo it, it may not hurt at the moment, but you'll probably be sore tomorrow since it hasn't been used properly in a while," the bowling coach said to his excited captain.

Alice looked over at a clock on the wall and saw that over an hour had went by. Her heart sank and she urgently turned back to her coach.

"Would it be okay if I left now?"

"We're nearly done, that's fine. Somewhere to be?" he asked curiously.

Alice's cheeks flushed slightly, "Someone asked me to come to their tennis match."

"Ah, that student council president I assume?" the coach smiled coyly.

"Uh yeah, I've got to go!" Alice said quickly, gathering her things and rushing out the door.

…

"Since when does Atobe-buchou watch the stands more than he watches the matches?" Mukahi asked Oshitari who was standing next to him.

"Perhaps he's waiting for someone," Oshitari shrugged.

The singles two match ended with a 6-0 victory for Hiyoshi who walked off of the court with a fierce and victorious expression. Mukahi glanced at Oshitari who unzipped his tennis jacket as the pair started to make their way to the court for doubles.

The pair played efficiently and quickly which grabbed them a 6-0 victory as well. The Hyotei team had a perfect streak going and the other team had yet to take a single game from them. Atobe let out a huff and shoved his hands into his pockets. Sometimes being the best on the team was difficult because in situations such as the current match, he wouldn't get to play. The Hyotei tennis team made their way onto the court and shook hands with the fatigued losing team. Atobe turned and grabbed his bag off of a nearby bench when he glanced up to see a figure running toward him. He exited the courts and smirked as Alice bent over and heaved heavy breaths.

"I'm sorry! I missed it! I rushed over here as fast as I could!"

Atobe shook his head, "You missed nothing. That other team didn't put up any fight whatsoever, I didn't play."

"You didn't play?" Alice asked him, confused.

"In tennis, we have five matches, three singles and two doubles. If the first four games are won, then the fifth game doesn't occur because there's no way the other team can win," Atobe told her.

"I see… In a way I guess I'm glad because I didn't miss it."

Back over with the remaining Hyotei members on the court Shishido glanced up to see his captain talking to someone. Atobe's body blocked his view and he knitted his eyebrows.

"Who the hell is he talking to?"

The other members looked up to see the scene before them and Ootori with his tall height stood on his tip toes.

"That's that girl!" he exclaimed.

"_What_?!" everyone else cried out, moving in different directions to get a better view.

"He invited her to our match?" Mukahi asked Oshitari.

"Looks that way… Hmm," Oshitari hummed out with a sly smile.

"No wonder he couldn't pay attention to the match," Hiyoshi grumbled, "He needs to get his head on straight."

"I'm sure if it would have been a serious match Atobe-buchou wouldn't have been so distracted. Tennis always come first for him," Ootori defended his captain.

Atobe turned around to see everyone on his team staring at him with intent expressions.

"Looks like Ore-sama has an audience," he said and chuckled, "They always want to know my business."

"From what I can tell, everyone does," Alice noted.

Atobe shrugged with a proud smile, "What can Ore-sama say? My beauty is enticing."

Alice's eyebrows shot up, this guy was ridiculous! He never got enough of himself!

….

"So what does your agenda consist of this afternoon?" Atobe questioned Alice the next week after the final bell rang for school to let out.

"I actually don't have bowling practice today, so I'm going to go home and relax for once!" Alice grinned in excitement.

Atobe wrinkled his nose, "How boring, it would be _much_ more interesting if you came and had afternoon tea with Ore-sama."

"I don't like tea."

Atobe's eyes widened slightly, "You… don't like it?"

"No… I never have."

Atobe looked distraught and Alice let out a reluctant sigh, "I'll go."

The tennis captain's face instantly brightened, "Fantastic."

Alice finished grabbing her books for her homework that evening and then trailed after Atobe to the student council room.

"Ore-sama has a quick meeting," he told her over his shoulder.

"I'll be quiet, I have work I can do."

Atobe opened the door and motioned for her to go inside.

"Thanks."

Alice sat down in one of the chairs at the beautiful stained wooden table and Atobe took his seat at the head of it. He folded his hands on top of the shiny surface started humming a light tune.

"What's that?"

"Hmm?" he questioned.

"What were you humming?" Alice asked.

"Ah, one of my favorite melodies by Wagner," he grinned.

"Wagner?"

"Ore-sama enjoys classical music, it's relaxing to listen to."

Alice blinked in surprise, she had no idea. It was kind of weird, even though they were on friendly terms she didn't know much about Atobe other than he played tennis, was the student council president, lived in a mansion, and was a narcissist.

"What's your favorite color?" Alice found herself asking.

"I have two, black and gold."

"Oh… what's your favorite book?"

"Ore-sama enjoys reading plays by Shakespeare."

The two stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Atobe chuckled.

"Full of questions today, ahn?"

Alice's eyes shot down in embarrassment, "I guess so, I don't really know much about you."

"Ore-sama should take you fly fishing this weekend."

Alice's jaw dropped, "_Fly fishing_?!"

"It's okay if you don't want to," Atobe huffed at her baffled expression.

"No, I just had no idea you were into that! I'll go," she told him quickly.

Atobe's features turned pleasant once again, "Good, it'll be Saturday morning then."

Alice groaned, "Morning?"

"You can't talk your way out of this one, fishing is the best in the early hours before it gets warm outside," Atobe told her, "So dress accordingly."

"How early are we talking?" Alice hesitated, almost not wanting to know the answer.

"Ore-sama would like to leave around 6:30."

Alice almost fell out of her chair, "You've got to be kidding."

"Naturally Ore-sama will come get you, you aren't walking," he told her.

"Fine, fine, I'll do it."

"Great, it's a date," he winked at her before the door to the student council room opened.

Alice's cheeks flushed and she instantly pulled out her math book and slammed it on the table top. The student walking in paused and Atobe gave her a questioning glance.

"Don't mind me," she mumbled as she opened the book and flipped through the pages to the section they were on in class.

Alice stared intently at her school book in front of her but wasn't taking in anything she was looking at. She was too busy listening to Atobe as he talked to the person he was meeting with. They were discussing the funds involving a school dance that was coming up in a month. Alice went to one dance last year as a first year but didn't go to anymore after that. Keiko had forced her to come, saying she needed to get out and let loose a little. The dance had been dark with disco lights and loud pulsing music. Alice ended up standing against the wall most of the time because she wasn't a good dancer and was embarrassed to dance alone. A few times Keiko had dragged her to a small circle of their friends and they danced to a few songs but overall Alice felt awkward the entire time. She couldn't believe how some of the guys and girls danced. The entire bulk of the people at the dance had been crushed together in close quarters and guys and girls were dancing and rubbing together in such inappropriate ways. Alice pondered, she remembered Keiko laughing at her for being shocked by them… what was is called, grinding?

"We definitely need funds for a good DJ."

"Ore-sama knows this."

Alice snapped back to reality and she glanced over at Atobe who was writing diligently on a sheet of notebook paper. She watched his eyes which were narrowed in concentration and Alice wondered if he went to the dances. She thought for a few moments before mentally slapping herself, of course he did, he was the all-powerful and popular student council president. He wouldn't miss an opportunity to show off and a dance is the perfect place to do that. He probably had girls flocking to him worse than they did in school.

"Ore-sama will look this over and create a reasonable budget for you to work with."

Alice looked up again to see the boy leave the room and once again they were alone together.

"Sorry about that," Atobe said, leaning his chin into the palm of his hand.

"It's not a big deal, I had my work!" Alice said quickly.

Atobe chuckled, "It doesn't look like you did very much to Ore-sama."

Alice's eyes shot down to the blank sheet of paper that didn't even have her name written on it. Her mouth dropped slightly and she had no idea what to say.

"Distracted by my leadership prowess? Ahn?" he asked her teasingly.

Alice let out an embarrassed huff and looked up to see the tennis captain grinning at her.

"Do you go to the dances?" she found herself asking him.

Atobe paused and then answered, "Of course."

"I figured."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Alice shook her head, "No, I was just wondering and I thought you did, so I was right."

"I take it you're not a fan?"

Alice shrugged, "Not really, I went to one last year and to be honest I had a pretty awful time."

"Did you go with anyone?" he questioned.

"Well, not a boy, if that's what you're asking. My friends had me go with them."

"Perhaps you need to find the correct person to go with, it makes everything more interesting," Atobe told her.

"I'm not a dancer though, and that dancing they do at those dances is so…" Alice trailed off, thinking about it.

Atobe let out a laugh and Alice jumped.

"You're too cute, does that kind of dancing bother you?"

Alice's cheeks instantly flushed and she clapped her hands to them. Her heart started pounding and she felt hot. Why was Atobe making her feel this way? He was her friend and they got along fairly well together. The door opened again and Alice's eyes shot up to see Kabaji entering the room carrying a tray with a teapot and cups.

"Ore-sama had Kabaji bring an extra cup. You _will_ have some and you'll see that you like it, right Kabaji?" Atobe winked.

"Usu!"

Alice shook her head, "I'm telling you I won't like it. I've had tea before and I think it tastes bland."

Kabaji sat down wordlessly across from Alice and she watched as Atobe leaned forward, pouring the hot tea into three cups. Alice huffed when he handed her one of the cups and she stared down into the amber liquid. Steam rose off of it and she slowly raised it to her lips.

"It's hot," Atobe told her with a small smirk.

"I know _that_," Alice spat back.

She tilted the cup up until she felt the hot tea touch her lips. Alice flicked her tongue out and sampled it quickly.

Atobe rolled his eyes, "You have to _taste_ it. Take a drink, not a sip."

Alice squeezed her knees tightly together and took a deep breath before sucking a mouthful of hot liquid up. Atobe and Kabaji watched her as a flicker of emotions spread across her face and she swallowed painfully.

"Delicious ahn?" Atobe asked with a grin.

Alice distastefully licked her lips, "No, I don't like it, I told you."

Atobe's face fell, "Unbelievable," he mumbled.

"It's not a big deal, I'll stick to water and juice," Alice smiled back.

Atobe and Kabaji finished their afternoon tea after sharing a few short words and Alice continued to stare blankly at her math book.

"Do you require Ore-sama's help? Atobe asked her slyly, "Ore-sama _is_ the top of the third year class."

"No!" Alice exclaimed, "I just can't concentrate here."

Atobe chuckled but said nothing as Alice slammed the book closed. She put her things away and stood up with an embarrassed expression.

"I'm going to head out… that relaxation that I was talking about earlier, I'm going to go home and do that."

Atobe nodded, "Ore-sama will see you tomorrow then."

Alice waved and exited the student council room quickly. She heaved a sigh of relief once she was on the other side of the door. Atobe was making her feel all funny inside and she didn't know what to make of it. It was a completely new feeling for her and she had no idea what it meant. He made her nervous but excited at the same time.

"I'm going home," she moaned, giving up on figuring it out.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. I did, however, create Alice!**

Alice watched Atobe as he threw a bowling ball down the lane at the alley. She was impressed because his balance and smoothness had really improved. She clapped with a smile on her face and stood up, giving him a high five.

"Ore-sama is honored," he gave her a charming grin.

"You're a good listener," she told him.

Atobe crossed his arms, "So the weekend after next…"

"I'm leaving."

Atobe paused and stared at the girl in front of him.

"Leaving?"

Alice nodded, "Since we have next week off for a small fall break I'm returning home."

Atobe looked disappointed, "I see," he stated dryly in English.

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to keep yourself occupied while I'm gone, no bowling lessons for you," Alice teased.

"No horseback riding for you," he returned.

"Actually there will be, once I get back home I can, remember?"

Atobe huffed, "You'll miss Ore-sama."

Alice laughed lightly, "Maybe."

The two were silent and stared at each other awkwardly. Eventually Alice had to turn away and she looked at her flip phone.

"I should be heading home, I need to start packing anyway."

"Do you have an international plan?"

Alice stopped and looked up at Atobe, "What?"

"Do you have an international phone plan?" he questioned again.

Alice stared down at her battered and bruised flip phone, "No, I don't."

"Then how do you get ahold of your family?" he asked.

"We don't really talk much while I'm here, but they have international plans on their phones so they call my apartment number if they want to talk. This phone is for use in Japan, not anywhere else," Alice answered.

"Hmm," Atobe hummed out as he started packing up his things.

Alice did the same and in moments the pair were walking out the front door. Alice had been allowing Atobe to give her rides home so she didn't have to hear him complain about her walking alone on the street. After riding in the limo for a little while they pulled up in front of Alice's apartment.

"Don't forget my driver is coming to get you at 6 on Saturday morning," Atobe told her.

"Right… fly fishing," Alice nodded.

"You'll enjoy it."

"You said I'd enjoy tea too," Alice teased.

Atobe frowned, "Quit being so horrible to Ore-sama."

"Okay, okay, I'm excited, I'll see you then."

…

Alice yawned with her eyes closed as she rode in the back of the limo that showed up at her apartment to pick her up Saturday morning. She decided on wearing jeans and a jacket since it was chilly out. The car rolled to a stop and Alice opened her eyes groggily to see Atobe striding toward the vehicle.

"He's bright eyed," Alice mumbled as he pulled the door open with a grin.

"Good morning," he said with a flashy smile.

Alice watched as his butler brought out several boxes and a pair of fishing rods. She heard the trunk pop behind her and then heard it slam shut.

"Scoot over," Atobe told her as he leaned down to get into the vehicle.

Alice slid across the leather seat and then looked back at Atobe who was wearing a tan vest that was covered in pockets overtop of the polo he was wearing.

Atobe took a deep breath and a pleasant look graced his features, "What a wonderful morning."

Alice huffed, he wasn't normal. No one liked mornings, especially her. She liked staying up late and then sleeping in because evening was her favorite time of the day.

Atobe eyed her and gave her a small smirk, "Grumpy, ahn?"

Alice laid her head against the door, "Morning isn't my favorite time… I need to wake up a little."

The car continued on and Alice watched as the Tokyo city buildings disappeared and country green slopes rolled by. They took a turn and drove down a gravel drive until the road behind them was no longer visible.

"We're here," Atobe said, pulling open the door as the car came to a stop.

Alice followed him out of the car and she glanced around. They were surrounded by trees and birds chirped loudly around them. The air was misty and quite chilly feeling. Atobe walked around to the trunk and opened it. The drive accompanied him and they both started pulling things out.

"You don't need to carry these," the driver told him, "I'll come back and get the rest."

"Nonsense, I can carry my own tackle box," Atobe huffed as he picked a box and a fishing rod up.

"I can carry mine too," Alice piped in.

Atobe shrugged to his driver, "Let her do what she wants."

Alice grabbed her own fishing rod and looked around for another box.

"You can use Ore-sama's," Atobe told her.

"Sir, when did you want your beverages to be served?" the driver asked.

Atobe looked thoughtful, "In an hour or so."

The driver nodded and got back into the limo.

"Beverages?"

"I like to drink champagne while I fish," he told her evenly.

"You _what_?"

Atobe rolled his eyes, "It's not alcoholic."

"Oh."

"Come on, follow Ore-sama," Atobe motioned to her and stared walking down the gravel road that stretched out further in front of him.

They walked straight for a while and then Atobe cut off into the woods abruptly. Alice tip toed through the brush until they arrived upon a large river. She instantly looked down at her regular tennis shoes and over to Atobe who was wearing knee high rubber boots.

"Shoot," she mumbled to herself.

Atobe placed his tackle box on the bank and opened it up with a grin on his face.

"What will Ore-sama use today?" he questioned with glittering eyes.

Alice stared down at him as he picked up tufts of feathers, fur, and things that looked like insects. She frowned because she could already tell she was going to royally suck at what they were going to do. Atobe glanced over his shoulder and pointed at the objects.

"Which one do you want?"

Alice's mouth fell open, "How would I know? I've only fished a few times, and I certainly haven't fly fished before."

Atobe chuckled, "This one then," he picked up what looked to be a fake black bug with red markings.

Alice took it and stared down at the artificial fly. Atobe grabbed his own and began putting it onto the string connected to his fly rod. He finished quickly and looked over at Alice who was still staring at the bug in her hand.

"Allow Ore-sama," he told her as he grabbed the fly and laced it onto her string smoothly.

"Thanks…" Alice trailed off, becoming more uneasy by the second.

"Since you aren't wearing the proper footwear," Atobe nodded to her tennis shoes, "You can find a rock to stand up on so you can see out over the water."

Alice turned to look at the rocky shore next to the river and she cringed.

"Please don't let me fall," Alice mumbled as she stepped up onto a slick rock and began walking across them until she was standing on one that was almost in the center of the river.

She looked down to see the rock under her was small and the water rushed around it quickly. Alice gulped, knowing how easy it would be to slip and fall. She glanced over at Atobe who was happily humming to himself as he walked out into the middle of the river. She watched as he began pulling out a length of string from the reel which dropped into the water next to him. Alice's eyebrows shot up as Atobe held the loose string in his left hand and brought his fly rod back with the other. The string flew through the air and landed a distance away from him on top of the flowing river water.

"Your turn," he called out to her as he took a few steps further into the river.

"Don't laugh at me, this isn't going to be pretty," Alice returned as she tried to mimic what he did.

She pulled out a loop of string and brought the fly rod back and threw it forward violently. Alice blinked when she didn't see her line land in front of her.

"It's not like bait fishing," Atobe said loudly from up the river, "There's no weight on that string so you can't cast the same."

"Right… no bobber," Alice said to herself.

Alice spent the next ten minutes trying to get her line out into the water. She huffed because she felt like an idiot for not being able to do something that looked so simple.

"Ore-sama will help you," Atobe said from behind her which made her jump in surprise.

Alice tried to turn quickly to face him since he had snuck up on her and the bottom of her shoe slid against the slick surface of the rock. Alice's eyes grew large and she fell backwards into the river away from Atobe. She busted through the surface immediately and coughed several times as water ran down her nose. Atobe chuckled from where he was standing and Alice growled at him as she stood up.

"It's a little too cold for a swim, ahn?" he asked her with an amused smile.

"Not funny."

Atobe held his hand out Alice grabbed it roughly. She walked heavily to the grass next to the bank and sat down.

"I feel like I just gained 15 pounds," Alice moaned out with a huff.

"Probably close, your clothing is waterlogged," Atobe responded.

Alice stared at Atobe's empty hands and she questioned, "Where's your rod?"

Atobe puffed his chest out, "Ore-sama has already caught two fish. I thought you required some assistance."

Alice shook her head in defeat, "Maybe this isn't for me."

"My prowess makes up for your shortcomings."

"What?!"

Atobe shrugged, "Dry out there, and be intoxicated by my beautiful skills."

Alice watched him walk back over to his tackle box where he picked his fly rod back up. Atobe made his way back to the center of the river and threw his lure out onto the water once again. Alice pursed her lips as she watched him artfully maneuver the fishing line as it flowed with the water current. She wrinkled her nose when she saw the tennis captain place his pointer finger and his middle finger between his eyebrows with a serious expression.

"What is he doing now?" Alice asked herself out loud as Atobe's eyes seemed to glow.

"Behold the power of my insight!" Atobe cried out with a proud smile as he reeled his line in and a fish flopped around on the end of it.

An hour passed and Atobe kept strict count over the fish he had caught.

"That's number ten," he called out with a smirk.

Alice rolled her eyes and asked, "So do you always let them loose after you catch them?"

Atobe shook his head as he slowly walked out of the rushing water, "No, sometimes Ore-sama brings them back to have for dinner."

"I see, whenever I fished at home we always let them loose, catching them was good enough for me," Alice told him.

Footsteps sounded behind her and Alice turned over her shoulder to see the driver bringing them a tray with a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

"Right on time," Atobe sighed with a pleased expression.

Atobe took the tray and the driver turned back around, leaving them alone again. He opened the bottle and poured clear light liquid into each glass carefully. Alice took her drink as it was handed to her and Atobe drank from his own glass deeply.

"Refreshing," he said happily.

Alice sipped on hers and decided it wasn't that bad but she didn't know how Atobe liked it so much.

"Better than tea?"

Alice nodded, "Definitely, everything is better than it."

Atobe's nose shot in the air, "Not true."

"It's true for me," Alice shrugged, taking another drink of her cold beverage.

…

"That was 23 catches for Ore-sama, be impressed by my prowess!" Atobe grinned as they rode back to the Atobe mansion in the limo.

"It was pretty impressive," Alice admitted.

"Maybe you'll actually be able to get your fly onto the water next time," Atobe teased.

"Next time?"

Atobe nodded, "Surely there's going to be a next time."

Alice felt herself getting nervous and warm in such close proximity to him. It was that feeling again, the one she had no idea what it was.

She laughed anxiously, "Okay, sounds good."

They pulled up in front of the mansion and Atobe got out of the car; motioning to the front door.

"Ore-sama has something for you."

Alice stared at him in confusion, "You do?"

Atobe nodded and flashed her a charming smile, "Follow me."

Alice did as she was told and found herself standing in front of the tennis captain's bedroom. He walked inside casually and Alice warily followed.

"You're not going to do anything weird are you?" she asked him hesitantly.

Atobe looked at her horrified expression over his shoulder and he let out a laugh, "Don't be ridiculous, Ore-sama wouldn't behave that way, unless you asked," he gave her a small wink.

"Eh!" Alice took a step back as he grabbed her hand and placed something in it.

"Calm down," Atobe told her.

Alice held her hand up to see a cell phone resting in her palm.

"What is this for?" she asked him, "I have a phone already."

"You don't have one for international calls. Ore-sama knew that you'd be devastated not getting to communicate with me while you're gone."

"Seriously? You bought me a phone so you can talk to me while I'm at home?" Alice asked incredulously.

Atobe put his hands on his hips, "The money means nothing, and yes, Ore-sama did. We can text too."

Alice once again stared at the device in her hand which was much nicer than the chunk of plastic she carried around.

"Well, thank you Atobe, that's very nice of you," she told him in a quiet voice.

"Ore-sama will expect to hear from you."

Alice nodded, heat rushing to her cheeks, "Okay."


	8. Chapter 8

**AcceleratorCupcake: Gah! That's awesome! Yes, I've totally spent time on Atobe's page on the website! Not to mention a lot of the other players pages as well! **

**Puja: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! :)**

**A/N: stars: * in this chapter indicate text messages!**

**I'll also say that this is a monster of a chapter compared to the others! Enjoy.**

**Discaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, however, Alice is someone that I created!**

Alice stared out the oval shaped plane window as the jumbo Delta jet she was on soared through the sky. She sank deeply into her seat and glanced over at the stranger sitting next to her. Plane rides never bothered her, but she had to admit that a 14 hour and 15 minute flight was not her idea of fun. The hardest part of returning to the United States was the time change… the 13 hour change was no easy feat to overcome. Whenever she traveled between Japan and America she always had trouble adjusting. The jet lag was horrible and it usually took days before she quit feeling sick. Alice hated airplane food and never accepted any of the meals given to her except for the little pretzel snacks and drinks provided. After several trips of the plane food making her queasy she decided it was better to go hungry than be nauseated. She leaned forward in her seat and unzipped her carry-on bag where she pulled out a packet of cheese crackers.

Alice munched quietly on her snack and pulled out the remote which controlled the small screen that was on the back of the seat in front of her. She usually watched a couple movies over the course of the flight but this time wasn't in the mood for it. Instead, she clicked on the 'flight data' button which brought up a world map. A cartoon plane was over the Pacific Ocean and a dashed line showing the route to Atlanta, Georgia was also shown. Alice let out a sigh as she saw a box above the plane that read 'Time to Destination: 13:35'.

'Thirteen hours and thirty-five minutes…' Alice mentally groaned.

Alice's flight had left the New Tokyo International Airport at 8:00am on the dot. She had eaten breakfast in the airport while she waited at her gate and read the morning paper. The airport had been busy as there were a lot of people taking flights and it had taken a while for Alice to make her way through security.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

Alice looked up to see a flight attendant staring down at her.

"I'll have apple juice, thank you," Alice replied, glad to be speaking English and talking with another American.

She took her drink and sipped out of the clear plastic cup with a small smile. Alice reached down and pulled a book out of her bag and opened it, deciding to read for a while.

…..

Atobe unzipped his tennis bag and pulled out one of his cell phones. He stared at the time on it and let out a huff. It was ten in the morning and he was at the tennis courts for a morning practice session since they did not have school.

"Are you in a time crunch today or something?" Mukahi asked his captain from a neighboring court.

"He's checked his phone at least five times since we started, how lame," Shishido said.

Atobe turned around and pointed, "Say one more thing and Ore-sama will have you run a marathon before you return home today!"

Shishido shrank back, "Sheesh."

"Your friend is in the air, isn't she?" Oshitari questioned.

Atobe tossed his head, "So what if she is?"

The regulars had found out more about Alice as the weeks since her discovery rolled by. They all knew that she was from America and that their captain seemed to have a strange obsession with her.

"Is she going to _call_ you when she makes it to the airport?" Mukahi teased, making a kissing face.

Atobe's eyebrow twitched and he zipped his bag back up forcefully, resting his racquet on his shoulder.

"You want to make jokes?" Atobe asked seriously and pointed to Oshitari, "You practice with Kabaji, I'll take this spot."

Mukahi's face paled as he watched Oshitari shrug and walk off of the court. Atobe stepped onto the other half and pulled a tennis ball out of his pocket and bounced it. He grinned at Mukahi who crouched down in a defensive stance.

"Prepare yourself," Atobe called out, "For my beautiful _prowess!_"

…

Alice looked at the map in front of her. She had managed to become engrossed in her book for around two hours which left eleven hours until her destination was reached. She rested her head back on her seat and let out a loud sigh. Her legs were already aching from staying in a sitting position and she tried to move them but the chair in front of her prevented that.

'I'll get up in a few hours to move around and use the restroom,' Alice thought to herself as she pulled out a Sudoku puzzle book she brought.

…

"That was an entertaining practice, ahn Kabaji?"

"Usu!"

Atobe sat across from his best friend at his mansion and reached for the tea cup in front of him. He glanced at the giant handed clock hanging on the wall and frowned. It was one o'clock which meant that Alice had been flying for nearly five hours now. He frowned as he thought about her not even being halfway through her journey.

"Let's go get lunch somewhere," Atobe told Kabaji who stood up with a nod.

"You won't be dining here?" Michael, Atobe's butler asked.

"Ore-sama wants to get some fresh air," Atobe said and thought, 'And it will eat up more time.'

….

"Would you like some lunch? We have three choices," the flight attendant asked from the aisle.

Alice shook her head, "I won't have anything, thank you."

Her stomach groaned in protest but the smell of plane food made her want to wretch at the same time. She leaned back over and pulled out a bag of chocolate teddy grahams.

'I can do this, and when I get back in the U.S. I'll have a big cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds at the Atlanta airport!'

…

Atobe managed to waste a few more hours after having lunch with Kabaji in the city. He decided to go for a walk and window shop for anything that caught his eye. Kabaji loyally followed him everywhere.

"Ore-sama would look good in that, right?" Atobe said as he eyed a mannequin in a shop window wearing a fancy white suit.

He stared at it a few more seconds and looked to Kabaji for confirmation, "Ahn?"

"Usu!"

Atobe grinned, "It's settled, come on Kabaji, let's go inside."

"Usu!"

…

Alice tried to place the little pillow that was provided for her on the plane against the wall next to her. She shifted awkwardly in her seat and tried to rest her head but she could feel the hard side of the plane right through the shoddy pillow. She let out a small groan and sat up, the pillow falling into her lap.

"Could I get out for a minute?" she said to the man sitting next to her.

He nodded and stood up so that she could slide out. Alice unbuckled her seat belt and stood up on unsteady legs. She let a small huff out as her stiff muscles whined in protest. The aisle was clear and Alice took short steps until she was outside of the lavatories. Both were occupied at that moment and she leaned back against the wall, stretching her arms over her head. One of the worst parts of being on such a long plane ride was that there wasn't really a chance for Alice to brush her teeth or to bathe other than splashing cold water on her face. She felt grimy and knew it would only get worse because she still had another flight once she arrived at the Atlanta airport. Alice returned to her seat after using the tiny restroom and sat down; buckling her belt again.

'Maybe I'll watch a movie,' she thought as she picked the remote up and started to scroll through the available movies.

…

"I'm keeping my mouth shut," Mukahi mumbled as he walked with his fellow teammates onto the courts for afternoon practice.

Shishido snickered at his childhood friend and adjusted his cap, "He gave you a personal practice session Gakuto."

Mukahi rolled his eyes, "He tried to kill me!"

"He was testing your acrobatics," Oshitari interjected with a sly smile.

"By trying to hit me in places he shouldn't be aiming for?!" Mukahi exclaimed, slightly offended, "The only reason I avoided them was _because_ of my acrobatics!"

"Atobe-buchou's control is so amazing!" Akutagawa suddenly cried out with a grin.

"You can play him today then, so you can experience first-hand his control when he tries to aim a tennis ball at your-"

"Gakuto," Oshitari frowned, cutting him off but he couldn't help chuckling after a few seconds.

"Shishido-san, can we work on my serve a little bit today?" Ootori suddenly asked his doubles partner.

"Of course Chotaro," Shishido gave him a small smile as the group entered the courts.

"Atobe-buchou isn't here yet," Akutagawa said in disappointment as he pulled his tennis racquet out.

"Neither are Hiyoshi or Kabaji," Ootori added.

"Let's start warming up," Shishido told everyone.

"Right," they all nodded.

The teammates spread out and Akutagawa jumped up with a grin when he spotted Atobe and Kabaji making their way toward the courts. Hiyoshi trailed at a distance behind them.

"I don't like that look on his face," Mukahi whispered to Oshitari.

Atobe placed his tennis bag on the ground and unzipped his tennis jacket.

"Everyone," he boomed, "We're doing some endurance work this evening."

All of the Hyotei tennis members were silent as they stared at their captain.

"That means start running, right Kabaji?"

"Usu!"

There was the sound of racquets hitting the ground and the regulars all took off toward the gates of the courts. Atobe took off, trailing after them with Kabaji at his heels.

"Around the school grounds! Don't stop until Ore-sama says so!" he shouted at the pack in front of him.

Outside of the courts were the remaining members of Hyotei's 200 member tennis club. They all heard their captain's yell and immediately started running after the retreating pack of regular members. Atobe grinned as he ran, picking up speed as he went. He was full of pent up energy and a long hard run would calm him down a bit. His smile grew as he cut through past Shishido and Ootori who were running side by side. Mukahi was at the front of the pack but Atobe knew that wouldn't last very long and that he would eventually have to drop back. The captain held his position and like a lion stalking his prey; he silently waited for the few in front of him to tire before he broke out into a fast run. He blasted by Mukahi who grunted as he saw a flash of white go by him.

"If anyone can catch Ore-sama, practice will be cancelled for the day," he called out over his shoulder with a devious smirk as he pulled further away.

…

It was six o'clock in Japan which meant that Alice had been on her flight for ten hours now. Her legs were aching and her stomach felt like a dried prune. The windows had all been pulled closed so the inside of the plane was dark. Alice could see many people sleeping and she desperately wished that she could do the same. In all her flights she had never been able to fall asleep on an aircraft.

'No more movies,' she thought.

Alice pulled a deck of cards out and decided to play solitaire on her table that was attached to the seat in front of her.

….

"Damn it Atobe," Shishido spat out between heaving breaths.

"Don't be upset, Ore-sama gave all of you an opportune chance and none of you rose to the occasion," Atobe shrugged.

"He's got a lot of spare energy today," Hiyoshi said to Ootori who nodded in agreement.

Coach Sakaki approached the tennis courts and nodded in approval at all of the tennis members who had their hands on their knees breathing heavily.

"Atobe," he called out to his captain.

The third year swung around and jogged over to his coach with a proud expression.

"It looks like you're giving them a good workout today," Sakaki remarked.

"It appears they need more conditioning."

Sakaki gave his captain a small smile of approval, "Do what you wish, you're dismissed."

Atobe gave his coach a nod and returned to the courts with a devious grin.

…..

"Two more hours, two more hours," Alice mumbled to herself as she listened to her iPod.

The flight attendants were serving dinner and Alice tried to hold her breath as the man sitting next to her began eating his. She once again refused the meal and opened her bag up, pulling out another pack of crackers. She moved her hand around in the front pouch of her bag and her face fell.

"I've eaten all my snacks, this is the last pack…" she whispered out with a horrified look on her face.

…..

"That will be all, good work this evening, gentlemen," Atobe announced with a charming smile.

He watched them wobble off of the courts with a satisfied feeling welling inside of him. Atobe opened his tennis bag and placed his racquet back inside; pulling his phone out. It was a little after eight and the captain was shocked he had kept the team for that long, no wonder they seemed exhausted. He picked his bag up and started walking up to the parking lot where his limo was waiting.

"Did you have a nice practice this evening, sir?" his driver asked as they were pulling away from the school.

"Ore-sama never has _nice_ practices… Ore-sama has _excellent_ practices," Atobe crossed his arms proudly.

The limo pulled up in front of his mansion and Atobe exited the vehicle before the driver could open the door for him. He rushed inside and upstairs so he could take a hot shower and wash the grime and sweat from practice off. The hot water felt heavenly and the bathroom steamed up instantly. When he was finished, Atobe pulled on his cream colored robe and walked to his room where he grabbed a shirt and slacks for dinner.

….

Alice had the flight data screen up and was desperately staring at the 'Time to Destination' box.

"Forty-five minutes," she whispered to herself.

'I've been on here for almost fourteen hours and these last minutes are taking an eternity to pass by!' Alice thought in agony.

"We will now begin our descent and will be arriving in Atlanta in approximately forty minutes," the captain announced over the intercom.

Alice felt the plane lurch as it started to fall in altitude and her ears began to pop. She gripped her armrests and pulled the window cover up so she could see outside where it was light. It was incredible because by returning to America, she was basically getting to start her day over again. It was night time in Japan, but in the U.S. the day was just beginning as it was around 6am. The time change was a tough pill to swallow as Alice hadn't slept since her last night in Japan, and she was still on Tokyo time, which meant she was getting sleepy even with it being the early morning hours in the states.

…

Atobe wordlessly flew through his homework until it was all completed. He threw his books on his desk and reclined back on his bed with a pleased smile.

"That was easy, no work now until school starts the week after this one," he mumbled as he pressed the play button on his iHome.

Classical music instantly filled his room and Atobe closed his eyes with a lazy grin playing on his features. He heard the door to his room open and saw Michael bringing him a glass of champagne.

"Thank you," he told his butler who bowed in response.

Atobe sipped the ice cold drink and tapped his finger to the melody on his thigh. His dinner had been wonderful as usual, and he had even gotten to eat one of his favorites, Yorkshire pudding with roast meat and gravy. Songs played continuously and Atobe found himself nodding on and off as exhaustion from his day's exertions started to wear on him. Michael returned and Atobe handed him his empty glass.

"Will there be anything else?"

"No, Ore-sama is about to retire," Atobe replied.

Michael gave him a small bow and exited the room. As soon as the door closed Atobe glared at the clock which read ten o'clock. He let out a disappointed huff and stood up. Atobe grabbed a set of night clothes and went to his bathroom to change.

…

"Welcome to Atlanta, the temperature is 80 degrees and sunny with a local time of 9:14am."

Alice listened to the voice over the intercom and let out a relieved sigh. She pulled the phone Atobe had given her out of her bag and turned it on.

"I'll just send him a text, it's late there," she said to herself as she started typing.

…

Atobe had his toothbrush in his mouth and was brushing his teeth when he heard a distinct noise through his bathroom door. He instantly spit his toothpaste out and grabbed a glass to rinse his mouth. The captain threw his toothbrush in its holder and shoved the bathroom door open; striding over to the stand his phone was sitting on.

*Landed in Georgia, wanted to let you know. –Alice*

Atobe rolled his eyes and snatched his phone, pressing the call button and holding it up to his ear impatiently.

….

The other passengers were standing up and pulling their bags down from the overhead compartments. Alice sat patiently as everyone lined up to get off of the large aircraft. Once the line thinned she stood up herself and slowly made her way down the aisle with her backpack. Alice had just stepped off of the plane and onto the jetway attached when the phone in her hand started ringing dramatically. She jumped in surprise and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she answered in English.

"You weren't going to call? What if I told you that I was worried sick?" Atobe teased sarcastically.

Alice rolled her eyes, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Shouldn't you?"

Alice sighed as she exited the jetway into the Atlanta airport, "It's 9 in the morning here. I get to relive this entire day all over again."

"You fly again don't you?" Atobe asked.

"Yes…" Alice trailed off, feeling nauseated.

"What's wrong?"

"I haven't eaten in almost fifteen hours," she told him, "Not a real meal anyway, I'm headed to the food court in here to get a dang cheeseburger and fries from McDonalds!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but you seem elated about it, do you like Western food better?" Atobe asked curiously.

Alice paused as she looked up at a set of giant screens which had arrivals and departures listed.

"B33 is my next gate…"

"Are you listening to me?" Atobe barked out, feeling offended.

"Sorry, I was checking what gate I needed to go to next," Alice apologized, "And yes, I have to be honest, I prefer the food here, but it's what I grew up with."

Atobe was quiet for a few seconds until Alice exclaimed on the other end of the line, "Ah! The food court! Oh I'm so happy, there's McDonalds, Arby's, Panda Express, oh and a TGI Fridays!"

Atobe gaped on the other end of the line, "Ore-sama has no idea what most of those places are you just said."

"We have McDonalds in Japan, but it tastes a lot different there than it does here," Alice told him and added, "And quit switching languages on me, I'm in English mode now."

Atobe frowned, he had never really eaten at fast food places; most of the time he ate at home or went to an upper end sit down restaurant.

"I'll have a double cheeseburger, fries, and a Hi-C orange drink."

Atobe was silent as he listened to what was happening on the other end of the line. He could hear other people talking and heard the cash register ding.

"Okay Atobe, you should probably get to sleep, I'm going to eat and then head over to my gate that's going to take me back to Ohio," Alice told him.

"What if I'm not in the mood to sleep?" Atobe pouted.

"Too bad," Alice said and then exclaimed, "Ah ha! Got my meal, it's lunch at 9 in the morning but I don't care! Well I'll talk to you later! Don't forget we're thirteen hours apart now, so don't try and call me at some ungodly hour of the night."

Atobe huffed, "Fine then, enjoy yourself, and send me something when you arrive home."

"Bye-bye!" Alice said as she hung up.

She stared down at her phone and couldn't help but let out a laugh in her exhausted state. She felt dirty, gross, and was running on pure adrenaline since she hadn't had any sleep.

"I've been waiting for this," she grinned as she opened up her early lunch and placed it on the table in front of her.


	9. Chapter 9

**AcceleratorCupcake: That's too funny! I'm from Ohio as well :)**

**DawnStarLight: Glad you like it and I'm glad you think it's original! That was what I was aiming for! **

**Kyproth: Thank you so much! And the lesser characters are my favorites, how could you not love Atobe? He has more character than anyone else in the series! But maybe I'm biased, he's by far my favorite!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, however, Alice is someone I created.**

"We will now begin boarding all zones for the Delta flight to Dayton, Ohio."

Alice yawned and picked up her backpack, holding her boarding ticket up so she could see what her seat number was. She stood in line wearily and waited as the people ahead of her checked in and started their walk down the jetway to the plane. Her layover in Atlanta was about four hours and exhaustion had hit her quickly after she finished her meal. Her flight was set to leave at 1:30 and Alice just wanted it to all be over. The time to Ohio was around one hour and fifteen minutes which was a breeze compared to the hell she had endured previously. She handed the attendant her boarding pass where it was scanned and she was nodded to so she could proceed. The plane for this flight was much smaller than the international jumbo jet she had been on earlier. Alice found her seat which had her looking out over the wing of the plane and she sat down heavily. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry. A big problem with flying was that it was severely dehydrating on a person's body. Alice leaned back and closed her eyes as she heard the overhead compartments banging as people stowed their bags.

…..

The flight was bumpy and Alice gripped her armrests as the smaller plane descended through the clouds. Alice's parents would be waiting for her at the Dayton Airport to drive her home. Her dad, Jeff Turner, was an engineer and her mom, Mary Turner, was a chemist so she was from a very math and science oriented household. Alice had always done well in school which was part of the reason that her parents allowed her to study in a foreign country to further her education. Hyotei was a prestigious school that offered several programs for foreigners as well as programs for their own Japanese students who wanted to study abroad.

Alice held her breath as she saw the ground rapidly approaching out her window. In seconds there was a jolt when the rear wheels hit the runway. The plane quickly slowed and drove off toward its gate. The engine ceased running and the passengers all got up, removing their bags. Alice once again turned her phone on and saw that it was almost 3 in the afternoon which meant it was 4am in Japan. She frowned and decided to wait to send Atobe a text, there was no reason to wake him up at such a horrid hour.

….

"Alice! It's so good to see you! How were your flights?" Mary Turner asked her daughter.

Alice approached her parents with a tired smile, "They were long, but I'm happy to be home."

"You look like you could use some rest, let's get your bag and head out," Jeff said with a happy grin.

Alice sagged under the weight of her carry-on bag and nodded, "Yes please."

….

Atobe sat in his limo with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He was on his way to morning tennis practice. He stared down at the phone in his hand with a small look of disbelief.

"Ore-sama told her to contact me when she made it home," he grumbled lowly.

The limo came to a stop in the Hyotei school parking lot and the driver opened the door for Atobe who hopped out with his bag over his shoulder. He walked briskly to the courts and gathered his teammates; telling them what their morning workouts would consist of. They began their practice and an hour went by. Atobe was practicing with Kabaji and froze when he heard a certain sound echo over the courts. Kabaji sent the ball whizzing over the net and Atobe didn't even try to hit it back. The ball bounced off of the fence behind him and rolled to a resting position.

"Give me a second Kabaji," Atobe told his partner who nodded.

"Chotaro! Remember to focus on that serve! If you lose control it's useless!" Shishido reminded his doubles teammate.

Ootori nodded with a frown and his eyebrows knitted when he looked down the courts to see Atobe on his cell phone talking. Shishido saw his partner looking questionably at something and turned this head to see the same thing.

"He's on the phone?" Mukahi asked as he walked over to Shishido's side.

Oshitari followed and rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Perhaps it's Alice."

"What are all of you doing?" Hiyoshi asked as he joined the group with Akutagawa at his heels.

"If one of us quit practicing to talk on our phone we'd be skinned alive," Shishido commented with a scowl.

"No kidding," Mukahi agreed.

…

Alice sat up in her room and rubbed her eyes.

"I must have fallen asleep," she mumbled sleepily as she noticed it was dark outside.

After the car ride home Alice stumbled into the house and fell onto her bed. She immediately fell into a snooze for a few hours.

"What time is it?" she questioned as she rolled over to look at her iHome on her nightstand.

Her eyes grew large as she saw it was around 9:30, she had been asleep nearly five hours. She instantly grabbed the cell phone Atobe had given her and called him without thinking.

'He's going to throw a fit,' she thought as she heard the ringing tone in her ear.

"So you decided to call, I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me," Alice heard Atobe say in a hurt tone.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep as soon as I got home and just woke up, it's 9:30 at night here," Alice apologized.

"I see, I suppose that's a valid reason, you haven't slept in over 24 hours, it's understandable."

"It's morning for you there, what are you up to?"

Atobe chuckled, "Tennis of course."

Alice gasped, "Oh I'm sorry! I didn't even think about that… I know you practice in the mornings."

Atobe huffed, "It's nothing, but I do need to get back to work, the others are complaining, I can tell by the looks on their faces."

"It's my fault, I'll send you a text next time so I don't interrupt you doing something," Alice told him.

"Do what you see fit, I don't mind a call though, that's why I gave you that phone," Atobe said.

Alice could practically see him winking at her and she smiled, "Well it's bed time for me, I've got to catch up on my sleep so I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, sleep well, and make sure you _eat_ something since you starve yourself on planes for some bizarre reason."

Alice laughed, "I will."

She hung up the phone and fell back onto her pillow with a sigh, it was dark in her room and she was sound asleep again in a matter of minutes.

…

Days drifted by and Atobe was perturbed by the fact he didn't hear much out of Alice. He sent her several texts asking her how she was and it would take her hours to reply, or she wouldn't reply at all. It slightly miffed him and he found that he was taking his tension out on the tennis team by making them run an endless amount at practices. Usually he was pretty fair about running laps for punishment, but every day that passed it seemed like he was turning in Tezuka more and more. Atobe knew that his Seigaku captain counterpart made his players run at the drop of a hat and he was quickly approaching that level.

"Atobe, come here."

The captain swung around, sweat running down his forehead, "What is it?"

Oshitari gave him a serious frown, "Walk with me."

Atobe dropped his racquet unceremoniously to the ground next to his bag and walked after his fellow third year. He had his jacket on and it was zipped up which was causing him to sweat twice as much.

"What's going on? You usually aren't this irritated acting. The other members are starting to question if you're making them run to punish them on purpose for your own amusement," Oshitari told him.

Atobe huffed and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, "Ore-sama is stressed at the moment and intense exercise helps me cope."

"We can appreciate hard work to be a national level team, but you're running everyone into the ground. At this rate we won't last in the next match because we will all be worn out," Oshitari said as he stared at his troubled captain through his fake glasses.

Atobe ran his hand through his sweat soaked hair, "I understand."

"What's the root of your problem?" Oshitari pressed.

"Ore-sama is going mad. I've never had this happen before," Atobe spat out desperately.

Oshitari's eyebrows shot up in surprise as his captain suddenly started to confide in him.

"I haven't heard from that girl hardly at all since she returned home. The entire reason I bought her the phone was so we could stay in touch."

"You bought her a phone?" Oshitari asked in surprise.

"It's impossible for a lady to resist and ignore me," Atobe continued, brushing off his friend's question, "All of the girls at school can't stay away from me… how can _she_ ignore me so easily? I have needs!"

Oshitari shook his head, "I didn't know you were so upset and felt so strongly."

"Of course Ore-sama feels strongly! I think I've been fairly obvious that I'm interested, but it appears that she's a bit dense!"

"Throw her one of your famous parties," Oshitari suggested.

Atobe froze and a big grin spread across his face. He reached out and grabbed his fellow third year by the shoulders and shook him.

"That's a _wonderful_ idea! She'll certainly be impressed by that, especially since it'll be in my glamorous house!" Atobe exclaimed.

"Isn't there a dance coming up as well?" Oshitari pondered out loud as he stepped back and straightened his shirt and glasses.

Atobe nodded, "There is."

Oshitari gave his captain a smile, "You're worried for nothing. You have plenty to plan on for her return now."

"But that still doesn't answer why she isn't responding to me when I try to contact her," Atobe pouted.

"Plane sickness?"

Atobe glanced up at the blue sky with a thoughtful expression, "Perhaps you're right, she hadn't slept or eaten in an abnormally long time, maybe she's still sick."

"It's possible, I've heard those international flights can be extremely hard you," Oshitari replied.

"Ore-sama is calling her this evening, enough with the texts!"

Oshitari frowned, "Wouldn't that be bad? She'll still be asleep."

"Darn, you're right, and she warned me not to call her at such an hour," Atobe looked disappointed.

"Maybe after practice this morning?"

Atobe nodded, "That would work, it will be late evening for her, but it's worth a try."

Oshitari gave his captain a small smirk, "Now that we've got that issue sorted out, let's get back to practice."

…..

Alice was already asleep when she bolted upright in bed as her phone started ringing loudly from her night stand. She turned to look at the clock which said it was 10pm. Alice let out a small groan and grabbed the device to answer it.

"Hello?" she answered in a deep sleep ridden voice.

"Why haven't you returned my messages _Alice_?"

Alice let out a sigh, it was too late for this, "I'm sorry, I've felt pretty horrible since I got home. I've been sleeping _a lot_. I wake up in the morning and get up for a little bit but that's all. I've spent every day in my room so far on my bed."

Atobe heaved a sigh of relief on the other end of the line, "I thought you were ignoring me."

Alice shook her head, "To be honest I've been ignoring everyone except for my pillow."

"Hopefully you feel better soon, I have a party planned for when you return."

"A party?" Alice questioned in surprise.

"Oh yes, there will be a huge crowd there and I want you to be my partner for the evening," Atobe told her smoothly.

"That sounds really cool, where is it?"

"At my estate, _obviously_," Atobe announced proudly.

Alice couldn't help but let out a small laugh, "Of course it is."

"Get better soon, I want you at full health when you return, we have much to do," he told her with a grin on the other end of the line.

"You know I have to take those two plane rides again to get back don't you? I'm going to be a zombie all over again."

"Hmm, perhaps I should come and get you myself, ahn?"

Alice blushed, "That's ridiculous, you don't need to do something like that."

"Next time I'll just go with you," he stated in a matter of fact tone.

"You're going to come _with_ me?" Alice exclaimed, aghast, "Why?"

"If I'm with you, you can't ignore me. I'm very hurt by that you know, you'll have to make it up to me," Atobe told her.

"I don't know how my parents would feel about me bringing a boy from Japan home."

Atobe chuckled, "I'm not _from _Japan, technically speaking I'm from England. I just happen to be Japanese."

"Not completely though, right?"

"No," Atobe stated with a smirk, "Not completely, and if I come, I won't impose on your household. I'd find a hotel of some sort to stay in."

"You'd get bored, we live in the country outside of a small city… and there are no butlers here to wait on you hand and foot."

"I take offense to that, I don't _require_ such treatment, I merely take advantage of it because it's here for me to use," Atobe said.

"You have to get your own food, there's no one to bring you drinks, drive you places, do your laundry, or to run your bath water for you."

Atobe clenched his jaw, "So?"

"So… you can't pay someone off to do everything for you, you have to do things on your own," Alice told him.

"I'm sure I could handle it."

"I don't know…" Alice teased.

"Enough! We will settle this when I accompany you next time," Atobe shushed her.

"Whatever you say, _your majesty_," Alice said in a mocking tone.

"Tch! I'll talk with you later, and try to be a bit timelier in responding to my messages," Atobe told her with a small smile.

"Okay, well goodnight," Alice said in farewell.

"You should be saying good day," Atobe corrected her.

"Right, good day."

"Goodnight to you."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters but I did create Alice!**

On her fourth morning Alice woke up and actually felt like a human being again. Her parents were happy to see she was feeling better and she decided that she was going to go to the stables for a ride. Her dogs at home ran in circles around her as she was ready to leave.

"I'm sorry, you guys can't come, but I'll take you for a walk later at the park," she told the two canines who stared up at her with sad eyes.

Alice followed her mother to their car and they both left the house.

"I'll drop you off at the barn and then I'm going to the grocery, do you need anything?" Mary asked her.

"If you could get me some snacks for my flights back to Japan that would be great."

Mary nodded, "I will, and after I'm done I'll pick you up and we will go to lunch since you're feeling better."

"That sounds great!" Alice smiled.

…

Before Alice knew it the days had rolled by and she was in bed staring at the ceiling unable to sleep because her flight was the next day. She rolled over to see it was midnight and grabbed her phone off of the charger, staring at it in the dark.

"It _is_ 1pm for him…" she mumbled as she pulled up a text message screen.

*Are you busy?* she texted him quickly.

She waited a few minutes and soon after the phone beeped as it received a message.

*I'm having tea at the moment with Kabaji.*

Alice started typing again, *I can't sleep, you know I'm flying back tomorrow, right?*

Atobe's response came quickly again, *I'm very aware, and you should be sleeping since I know you won't do it on the plane.*

Alice huffed, if only he knew. She would give anything to be able to sleep now and on the plane.

*Fine, I'll talk to you when I get back… it will be around 4:30pm your time when I return, the day after tomorrow.*

*When are your flights?*

Alice smiled, he had to know everything.

*I leave from Ohio at 11am and will get to Georgia a little after noon. Then I leave from Georgia at 1:45 in the afternoon. It's an almost 14 hour flight, and I'll get to Tokyo at 4:30pm.*

*You'll be losing an entire day, that time change is rough.*

Alice laughed, he had no idea. The only positive about getting back to Japan at 4:30 was that she could go to bed and sleep all night. Coming back to the states was tough because she hadn't had any sleep and it was morning when she arrived so she had to suffer through the entire day before getting any sleep.

*I'm going to get some rest, I'll let you know when I'm in Georgia.*

*You better.*

Alice placed the phone back on its charger and rolled over; closing her eyes.

….

On the day Alice was due to arrive back in Tokyo Atobe decided that he would meet her at the airport and take her home so she didn't have to take a taxi. He stood near the baggage claims and stared down at his fancy watch with an upraised eyebrow. The captain tapped the toe of his elegant dress shoe on the tile floor with impatience. He was wearing a button up with a sport jacket and dress slacks. Atobe's driver stood loyally at his side waiting for instructions.

"It's 4:45, where is she?" Atobe asked out loud.

At the moment he spoke the baggage claim started rolling and suitcases started moving around to be picked up. Atobe stared down at the bags as they rolled by and he looked up at the screen telling him it was the flight from Atlanta. He glanced over to a hall near security where he noticed that a group of people were starting to walk out. Atobe cleared his throat and adjusted his jacket.

"There she is," he spoke with a small grin.

Alice looked positively disgraceful. She was dragging her feet and she looked as though she couldn't keep her eyes open. Her body sagged under the weight of her carry-on back pack and she didn't even look up. Atobe frowned and walked quickly toward her; his grin growing wider. He reached out to her and she side stepped him without looking up.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

Atobe's jaw dropped slightly as he watched her walk by him without a glance. He couldn't believe she didn't notice him! He dressed up and arrived at the airport to surprise her and she wasn't even _acknowledging _him?!

Atobe stared at her back with narrowed onyx eyes and then spoke in an arrogant voice, "After all Ore-sama has done for you you're going to ignore me?"

Alice froze and her eyes popped open. She swung around to see Atobe standing proudly with his chest puffed out.

"Atobe?"

"Who else would it be? Goodness, your appearance is disheveled," he commented as he eyed her messy hair and sweatpants.

Alice couldn't help but let out a laugh, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it would be a beauty contest when I got off of my 14 hour flight."

"You should always take pride in your appearance…" Atobe mumbled to himself and Alice's eyebrow rose in suspicion.

"Now…" Atobe changed the subject, "Let's get your bag and we will be off."

Alice nodded, "Sounds good, I still have to do all of my homework for school on Monday, it's going to suck."

"Ore-sama did all of it the first night of our break. It's been kind of boring."

"There's my bag," Alice pointed, walking forward to grab it.

Atobe snatched the back of her shirt and gave his driver a curt nod. The driver stepped forward and grabbed the suitcase quickly.

"We will be off now," Atobe proclaimed.

…

"Thanks for picking me up so I didn't have to take a cab. I was really surprised to see you," Alice told Atobe as they came to a halt in front of her apartment complex.

"That's the second time in a week you've ignored Ore-sama," Atobe reminded her with a hurt tone.

"I'm sorry, it's not all about you, don't you know?" Alice said sarcastically.

Atobe gave her a bizarre look, "No, I don't know that, it's always about Ore-sama," he gave her a wink.

The door opened and they got out of the vehicle. Alice walked over to the driver and grabbed the handle to her suitcase.

"I'll see you on Monday," she told Atobe who stared at her with a blank expression.

It was Friday and classes resumed the following Monday. Atobe frowned crossed his arms over his chest.

Alice could see the way he was looking at her and she let out a huff, "I'll be sleeping all weekend to get my inner time zone back in check. I have to be back to normal by the time school starts, so I really need to rest."

"Fine, but you'd better get back into the swing of things quickly, I'm scheduling the _party_ for next Friday evening."

Alice paused and turned to look at Atobe who was flashing her a charming smile.

"Why are you throwing a party anyway?"

Atobe smirked, "Because I _can_."

"You make it sound like it's going to be a huge deal."

Atobe chuckled, "That's because it will be. I'm inviting a wide variety of people."

"Like who?" Alice asked cautiously.

"Oh, the Hyotei tennis regulars of course, and several other schools that Ore-sama has… relationships with," he gave her a small wink.

Alice stared at him in shock and the tennis captain let out a laugh.

"It will be a grand time, there's never a dull moment when all of the teams get together," he reassured her.

"Is only the Hyotei tennis team invited?"

"Well no, all of the clubs at Hyotei are invited."

Alice gave him a smile, "Great, it sounds like it will be a lot of fun! My teammates will be really excited to hear about that!"

Atobe watched as she waved over her shoulder and entered her apartment. He frowned and tapped his foot a couple of times.

"She's not supposed to be excited about spending time with her _friends_, the entire point of such a large party was so that _Ore-sama_ could impress her."

…..

Alice's jaw dropped when she opened her locker and a fancy envelope fell out onto the floor. She knelt down and picked it up with a curious expression. She opened it and pulled out a thick sheet of paper.

_You are cordially invited to a party by Keigo Atobe at his residence on Friday evening beginning at 7:00pm. There is no need to bring food or drinks as everything will be provided. On an end note, this is not a casual affair, dress accordingly._

Alice couldn't help but roll her eyes. Nothing was ever casual for Atobe. She put the invitation into her backpack and headed to her morning classes.

…..

"So how was your trip home?" Keiko asked at lunch time.

"It was good, but I'm glad to be back. We need to get back to practice!" Alice answered.

Keiko nodded, "I agree, you need to tell that Atobe to quit stealing you away. You used to have a lot of free time, now he wants to do something with you all of the time."

Alice let out a small laugh, "That's true, he's very demanding."

"And egotistic, _and_ full of himself," Keiko added with a serious expression, "Don't tell me you like him, because you've been spending an awful lot of time with him."

Alice's jaw fell slightly in shock at her friend's blatant statement.

"_You do_!" Keiko pointed at her accusingly.

"I don't think I _like_ him like him, but I like him as a friend."

"Do you get nervous around him? Does your heart pound and you feel all funny?" Keiko questioned.

Alice's stomach dropped, those were all of those strange feelings that she had been having. She had never experienced them before when she was around someone so she was pretty clueless.

"What does that mean?" Alice asked her best friend quietly.

A large grin spread across Keiko's face, "Oh Alice! Is this your first crush?!"

"Hush!" Alice shushed her friend, looking around warily, "I don't want people to hear."

Keiko put her hand over her mouth and gave her a small nod, "Tell me what's going on."

Alice explained how she had been feeling and Keiko listened intently.

"I've never felt this way around another person before, it's weird and uncomfortable."

Keiko nodded, "You definitely like him, no doubt about it."

Alice's face fell, "So now what?"

"You find out if he likes you back, obviously!"

"And how do I do that?" Alice asked suspiciously.

"Well, you can be blunt and straight up ask, or you can play detective and look for clues."

"Clues?"

Keiko nodded again, "Yes, you can take note of how he acts around you and the type of things he says to you. I guess you could always talk to his friends and see what they have to say about it too."

"I'm not friends with any of his friends…" Alice trailed off, "This seems really complicated."

"That's because it _is_! And I'll help you out Friday night since all the school clubs are invited," Keiko winked, "I'll be able to tell you then and there if he likes you."

Alice let out a sigh, "Okay."

"You can count on me!" Keiko exclaimed.

….

"Let's go shopping after practice today," Keiko said on Wednesday afternoon.

Alice smiled, "Alright, for what though?"

"For something to wear Friday of course!" Keiko exclaimed back.

"Right!" Alice nodded quickly in realization.

"Don't you do your little lessons with your boyfriend on Wednesdays though?" Keiko suddenly asked.

Alice paused, "First, he's not my boyfriend, second, actually we do."

"Tell him you're busy," Keiko shrugged.

Alice mentally groaned and said, "He's going to throw a fit."

…..

"You're inviting all of the other tennis teams?" Shishido asked Atobe as they walked down the hallway.

"Yes," Atobe answered, "Why wouldn't I?"

Shishido shook his head, "It's going to be absolutely wild with all of them there, it's going to terrify the other Hyotei clubs… and are you sure you have enough room for something this big?"

"Tch! Of course Ore-sama does! Are you doubting my party throwing abilities? Ahn?" Atobe questioned.

Shishido shook his head, "I'm not going to argue, but if this turns out to be lame…" he trailed off as he spotted someone walking toward them.

"Atobe, I'm going to have to cancel our lesson tonight."

The tennis captain froze and turned to see Alice standing with one of her friends.

"Why?" he asked with a look of disbelief.

"Well… Keiko and I," she pointed to the girl beside her, "Are going shopping."

"You're ditching Ore-sama to _shop_?" he questioned with wide eyes, "But I could buy you whatever you wanted, all you have to do is ask!"

Keiko's eyes looked as though they were going to pop out of her head and she looked at Alice who was trying to find words to speak.

"Let her go," Shishido shrugged, "Girls like to shop, didn't you know that?"

Atobe glared daggers at the capped boy next to him and he let out a huff.

"It's for _your_ party you know," Keiko interjected, "Don't act so offended."

Shishido stared at the girl in shock. Had she really been so blunt with Atobe of all people? She didn't even know him!

Atobe crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, "Ore-sama wanted to help you pick out what you were going to wear… clothes are one of my specialties."

Keiko shook her head as she realized he was trying to suggest coming along, "No way, it's a girl thing, you can't come with us."

"Tch, fine, I need to hit the gym early this evening anyway."

Alice, Keiko, and Shishido watched Atobe stomp down the hall and around the corner.

"Way to go, now he's going to be a thorn in my side," Alice told her friend.

"He can get over it, there's no reason he needs to do everything with you… he should have plenty of 'guy' things he can go do," Keiko answered.

Shishido chuckled, "That was entertaining, it's not often I get to watch Atobe get frustrated over something so silly."

"You're on the tennis team, aren't you," Alice pointed at him.

Shishido frowned, "Yeah, I am."

"Great!" Keiko cut in, "We have a few questions for you then!"

"Keiko! What are you doing?!" Alice whispered harshly as Shishido stared at them in confusion.

"I'm playing detective, we're searching for clues, _remember_?"

Alice mentally slapped herself, why did she have to be friends with someone so fearless?

"So, your name is?" Keiko asked.

"Ryo Shishido," he answered automatically, "Why are you asking?"

Keiko ignored him, "Are you good friends with captain awesome?"

Shishido smirked at the comment, "I wouldn't say we're best friends, but I've known him since we were first years."

"Does he have anyone he likes?" Keiko continued.

Alice felt dizzy and her stomach twisted in knots. This was _not_ what she wanted to have happen.

"He likes her, doesn't he?" Shishido pointed at Alice, "He's always on his phone and I assumed it was with her… it's really lame how he does it during practice."

Keiko grinned, "I see, so he _does_ like her."

Shishido put his hands behind his head, "I haven't heard him say those exact words, but if I had to guess, it would be yes."

"See Alice? It's not that bad, Ryo here seems like a pretty cool guy," Keiko smiled.

"_Shishido_," he corrected, "I don't know you."

"You do now, my name is Keiko, and that's what you can call me."

Shishido shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, whatever, I need to get going. Have fun… doing whatever you're going to do."

Shishido walked away and Keiko grinned at her success.

"Now he's going to go tell Atobe that I'm some kind of stalker freak!" Alice practically shouted.

"No he won't! Besides, if Atobe likes you, like I know he does, he'll take you asking about him as a compliment to inflate that already huge ego he has."


	11. Chapter 11

**Acceleratorcupcake: GAH! You read my mind :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, but I did create Alice!**

"You need something that's slimming on you, but classy, you know what I mean?"

Alice stared at Keiko who was looking down a long rack of dresses hanging in one of the stores at the mall.

"I have no clue what you mean actually."

Keiko let out a sigh, "I figured, we will pick several out and you'll try them on, how about that?"

Alice nodded and the two set out to find dresses they each liked. After they had scanned all of the racks around they were both holding several dresses draped over their arms.

"To the fitting rooms!" Keiko pointed at the sign hanging on the wall.

Alice nodded with a small smile and followed after her friend. She stepped into one of the rooms and started sliding her clothes off so she could step into her first dress. After each dress that they tried on the two girls would step out and examine each other; making comments. Once they had both tried on everything they brought with them into the fitting rooms they started to narrow their selection.

"I don't like that one," Keiko pointed at one in Alice's pile, "You don't need to wear something with all of that poof going on. It makes you look like a ten year old trying to play princess."

Alice smiled, this was why she loved her friend; even though she was a bit of a tomboy she still knew what she was talking about. Keiko was honest and not afraid to be blunt. She picked up the dress and hung it on a hook to get it out of the way.

"Which one do you like?" Keiko asked as she eyed her own pile.

Alice looked thoughtful, she wasn't very good at this. She glanced at each dress and then pointed to one in the middle.

"That one."

"Really?"

Alice's face dropped, "Am I wrong?"

Keiko laughed, "It's your opinion, it can't be wrong!"

The two girls continued to contemplate their choices and their selection grew smaller and smaller until they were both down to two dresses each.

"Pick which one you think Atobe-_sama_ will like you in the best," Keiko joked.

Alice's cheeks instantly felt warm and she swallowed dryly. Keiko had brought up a valid point, the entire reason she was picking a dress was to wear it to _his _party. Alice wrinkled her nose as she remembered Atobe saying his favorite colors were gold and black. Her eyes instantly shot away from the sky blue dress and to the black one next to it. She reached out and ran her hands over the material slowly.

"I like that one too," Keiko said lowly.

Alice jumped, "Yeah… I think that's the one I'm going to choose."

"I've picked mine too, let's check out and get outta here!"

Alice nodded, "That sounds good."

…..

"You know Kirihara is going to be there…" Mukahi trailed off, "He's crazy! He'll tear Atobe's place apart!"

Oshitari chuckled, "It wouldn't be fun if everyone wasn't there."

"I wonder if chibisuke will decide to show up," Hiyoshi commented.

The regulars all paused and thought as they sat in the locker room after practice.

"I wonder if _Tezuka_ will show," Shishido wondered with a small smirk spreading across his features, "And if Sanada comes too… oh, that will get interesting really fast."

Mukahi let out a laugh, "Oh man! Tezuka, Sanada, and Atobe-buchou all in one room! I'd pay to see that! At a party no less!"

"Guess it's your lucky day then," Shishido shrugged, "Because I would bet money they will all show up."

"Maybe Tachibana will be there," Mukahi leaned in and elbowed Shishido in the side.

The third year instantly scowled, "Super lame Gakuto, why would you bring that up?"

"Is your cousin coming?" Ootori turned and asked Oshitari who nodded.

"Kenya said he, as well as the rest of the Shitenhoji team, were invited."

"I still can't believe Atobe-buchou invited all of the other clubs at school," Hiyoshi remarked with a small frown.

"He has to please that new girl of his he hangs around with," Shishido said, "I talked to her today, she seems all flustered about it, she was totally weird."

"What?!" Mukahi exclaimed, "You talked to her?"

Shishido shrugged, "Her and some overly outgoing girl came up to me and started asking me questions, it was pretty lame."

All of the regulars that were present leaned closer, waiting for Shishido to continue.

"_What_?" he asked with a frown, "I'm not giving you guys a play by play!"

"What kind of questions?" Oshitari asked curiously.

Shishido rolled his eyes, "Something about if I knew anything about Atobe liking someone."

Mukahi's jaw dropped, "And what did you say?"

"I didn't know, I thought he liked her, so that's what I told her. I said he'd never said before, but if I had to guess…" Shishido trailed off.

"Interesting," Oshitari adjusted his glasses and murmered, "It seems as though they haven't admitted anything to one another yet. This could possibly be more interesting than the novel I'm reading now."

Oshitari watched the others talking back and forth and a small smile spread across his face. Little did they know that the captain had already confided in him. He knew that Atobe was extremely frustrated and it was intriguing to know that the girl in question also seemed to be at a loss. He glanced up as the locker room door opened and Atobe, Kabaji, and Akutagawa walked in. Everyone stopped talking and Atobe raised an eyebrow.

"If Ore-sama didn't know better… I would think you were talking about me."

Immediately all of the regulars began shaking their heads with a 'no way!' look on their faces.

"Oshitari!"

The third year with fake glasses looked up to see Atobe staring at him intently.

"Come outside with me for a moment."

Oshitari stood slowly and followed his captain who led him outside. He closed the door and turned to face his fellow third year.

"Did you say anything to them? They seem overly excited today," Atobe asked skeptically.

Oshitari shook his head, "Not a word, they're probably excited for Friday, they were talking about some of the players from other schools being invited."

"Like who?"

"No one in particular, Sanada, Echizen, Tezuka, and my cousin all came up in the conversation."

Atobe paused and looked thoughtful, "Yes… I suppose it will be pretty interesting having everyone there."

"But your purpose isn't to have everyone there for a good time… is it?" Oshitari asked.

Atobe squeezed his fists, "That's only part of it… Ore-sama wants to impress that dense headed girl. When she sees my wealth and prowess in holding magnificent events, she'll have no choice but to acknowledge her feelings for me!" he proclaimed at the end.

Oshitari glanced over his shoulder and stared at the door. He was willing to bet all the other members were on the other side with their ears pressed to the door. He then looked back to Atobe who was staring at one of his cell phones.

"Talking to her yet _again_?" Oshitari gave him a small grin.

Atobe's head shot up, "Actually no, this is business."

Oshitari shrugged, "I need to get going… the train and a few chapters of my book are waiting for me."

"Quit reading those sappy romance stories," Atobe told him.

Oshitari smiled as he walked away and spoke lowly, "I'm trying to finish this story up so I can watch a real drama unfold in front of me."

…

On Friday morning the school was abuzz with talk of president Atobe's party that evening. Girls were gushing about how they were going to try and make their move on the elusive third year. Alice sighed as she walked through the halls. Ever since she had woke up that morning Alice had felt uneasy. Her heart seemed to beat one step faster than usual and she had a nervous pit in her stomach.

"You look grim today," Keiko said as she fell in stride with her friend as they headed to class.

"I'm not feeling quite right…" Alice trailed off.

"You're nervous about tonight right? You'll be fine," Keiko winked.

Alice swallowed dryly, she wasn't really sure about that. Her eyes kept darting around and she instantly felt like avoiding a certain someone; she was in no state to talk with him. The second year was able to avoid the person in question for the first half of the day but Atobe caught on quickly and cornered her at lunch.

"If Ore-sama didn't know better… I would think you were avoiding me," Atobe said with a small frown as he caught Alice leaving the cafeteria quickly.

"Uhm," she said hesitantly, "Not really, I'm just kind of busy today."

"What are you hiding from me? Ahn?" Atobe leaned closer and Alice jumped back, her back hitting the wall.

Atobe took a step backward and watched as she side stepped down the wall with gigantic eyes.

"I'll see you tonight! I've got somewhere I need to be!"

The tennis captain scowled as she retreated quickly.

"Kabaji, follow her," Atobe pointed in the direction she ran off in, "And don't get caught."

"Usu!"

Kabaji instantly set off after the girl and Atobe crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

….

"Ah! I'm sorry!" Alice exclaimed as she ran straight into someone.

"What are you running from?"

Alice froze and looked up to see the tennis player she had talked to earlier in the week. She noted that there was another tall boy standing beside him who had silver hair with brown eyes.

"You're Alice aren't you?" Ootori questioned.

"Heh, she's probably running from our captain," Shishido snickered.

"Are you coming tonight?" Ootori asked.

Alice nodded slowly, "I am."

"You look pretty shook up," Shishido remarked with a skeptical glance.

"I'm not having a very good day, and I'm a little nervous about tonight," Alice shrugged honestly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Ootori frowned, "Don't be nervous though! It will be a good time!"

"Yeah, she won't be saying that if she gets trapped in a room with Kirihara," Shishido spoke lowly.

"I don't think Sanada would be much fun to be stuck with either," Ootori couldn't help but add.

Shishido nodded in agreement and turned to look at Alice, "So you're the bowling captain, right?"

Alice gave him a small smile, "Yes…"

"What's your high game?" Shishido questioned, "I don't bring it up much, but I like to get out to the alley every once in a while."

Alice's face fell, "I've never gotten a 300… I had a 290 earlier in the year, but I swear someday I'll get that perfect game!" she suddenly proclaimed, her eyes burning.

Shishido chuckled and Ootori smiled.

"So you bowl some?"

Shishido nodded, "Not much, but I'm decent at it. When I'm not busy with tennis and other things I'll go out."

"What's your high game?" Alice asked with interest.

Shishido puffed his chest out slightly, "I've had a 272."

Alice smiled, "Nice! Sounds like you're much better than Atobe."

Ootori's jaw dropped and Shishido let out a laugh. Alice immediately put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh! I didn't mean to sound like a jerk!"

Shishido shook his head, "Nah, the way he talks about prowess this prowess that… it's nice to know he isn't perfect at everything."

Ootori nodded, "It's true, but he's definitely an admirable captain!"

"Alright," Shishido lifted his hand up, "We've got to get going, see you tonight."

Alice waved at the pair as they walked by and she instantly felt calm for the first time that day. Perhaps it wasn't going to be that bad this evening. At least she could say she knew someone other than Keiko and Atobe at the party.

…..

Atobe sat in the student council room after school had ended. He poured his afternoon tea and glanced up as Kabaji entered the room.

"Just in time!" Atobe grinned as he poured his best friend a cup of tea as well.

Kabaji wordlessly took his seat and the second year quietly communicated his findings to one of the few people he talked to. Atobe listened to his friend's low voice and his eyebrows perked up in surprise.

"She's familiar with Shishido? Interesting…" Atobe trailed off thoughtfully and added, "She's not Shishido's type at all, so Ore-sama isn't worried."

Kabaji looked questioningly at his captain and Atobe continued, "Shishido likes annoying women. I have no idea what he finds attractive in loud, boisterous, tomboys."

The captain lifted his cup to his mouth and drank deeply with a satisfied expression.

"Ore-sama is glad we found that suit when we were out window shopping. It's the perfect thing to wear this evening," Atobe commented as he flipped through his planner that was on the table in front of him.

Atobe stared down at it and thought about the wide variety of people that would be invading his home that evening. He smirked and closed the small book swiftly.

"Alright Kabaji, it's about time we head out. Everything needs to be perfect for tonight."

"Usu!"

…..

"That table there, put the snacks there, and the drinks there," Atobe pointed left and right as his servants scurried around hurriedly.

The tennis captain glanced down at his high dollar watch and he noted that there was an hour until the party started. He adjusted his suit jacket and looked down at himself with a smug grin. His suit was divine and only someone like him could pull it off. He was dressed entirely in white with a deep red tie on. His undershirt, suit jacket, and pants were a crisp white. Atobe's shoes were also white and were shining as the lights from the estate hit them.

"Kabaji, move the couch this way," Atobe pointed at one of the lush cushioned couches against the wall.

"Usu!"

Atobe crossed his arms proudly and glanced over at two servants who were setting up a pyramid of filled champagne glasses on top of one another. The pyramid rose highly into the air and Atobe marveled at its beauty.

"Perfect, it's all perfect, now let Ore-sama's guests arrive."


	12. Chapter 12

**Acceleratorcupcake: Fear not! The party is here!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters but I did create Alice!**

"Open the front gates Michael," Atobe told his butler who nodded in response.

Atobe peered out his front window with anticipation and he looked down at his watch with a growing smirk.

"They should start trickling in anytime now, right Kabaji?"

"Usu!"

Atobe made one last sweep of the large party area on the first floor of his estate and smiled when he heard a knock. He turned to see his butler pulling the front door open as he made his way in that direction.

"Buchou!" Akutagawa exclaimed with a big grin as he waved enthusiastically at his captain.

"Jiro," Atobe nodded, noting that he was followed by the rest of the Hyotei regulars.

They were all dressed up in suits and ties with the exception of Shishido. The third year had on a suit jacket but it was completely unbuttoned and the shirt he was wearing underneath had the first few sets of buttons undone as well.

"Going for the cool look, ahn?" Atobe asked him with a raised eyebrow.

Shishido huffed and ran his fingers through his brown hair, "It's a party, I wasn't going to come dressed like I'm attending a funeral."

"Lame!" Mukahi piped in over Shishido's shoulder.

"Hey! Don't say that! That's what I say!" Shishido barked back.

Mukahi snickered grabbed Shishido's collar. He pulled his head down and proceeded to roughly rub his hand on his friend's head.

"Gakuto! Get off! You're messing my hair up!" Shishido growled out as he struggled.

Akutagawa grinned and leapt into the fray with a laugh. Atobe stared down at the ground as he watched the trio wrestling and pulling at one another's clothes and hair. The doorbell rang and the captain glanced up.

"You three," he pointed at them, "Don't scare the guests away."

Akutagawa sat up with a grin and Shishido pulled himself off of the ground with a grunt.

Mukahi looked down at his rumpled shirt and his tie that had nearly been pulled off, "Ah! Now I've got to go fix this!"

"It's your fault, you jumped on _me_," Shishido said.

Ootori let out a laugh at his doubles partner who was sporting a pouting expression. Oshitari ventured away from the group and started inspecting everything that was set up. He stared up at the giant pyramid of champagne glasses and smirked at his captain's outright display of wealth.

"Here we go…" Hiyoshi trailed off as he stared at the front door where a familiar team entered with stern expressions.

"Atobe."

"Sanada, Yukimura," Atobe acknowledged as the Rikkaidai tennis team arrived.

"Thanks for the invitation," Yukimura said with a small smile as he glanced around, "It looks like it's going to be a good time, don't you think Genichiro?"

Sanada gave his captain a curt nod. It was obvious that the vice-captain was uncomfortable. Parties weren't really his thing, especially parties thrown by someone as flamboyant as Keigo Atobe. He reached up and adjusted his tie and swallowed dryly.

"It's nice to see you without that hat on, I thought it might be glued to your head," Atobe commented.

Sanada's brown eyes shot to Atobe and he cleared his throat, "I see you're as full of yourself as ever."

Atobe grinned, "Always."

The Rikkaidai team continued on inside and the Hyotei team watched as more people arrived at the door.

"I'm telling you someone needs to keep an eye on that Kirihara, look at him!" Mukahi pointed across the room at the second year who was looking around suspiciously.

"He's looking for trouble," Hiyoshi commented.

"Seigaku is here!" Oortori pointed at the door.

Atobe was across the room in seconds to be at the door where he was immediately face to face with Tezuka.

"Glad you could make it Tezuka," Atobe flashed him a smile.

Tezuka gave a nod of acknowledgment and motioned for his team to make their way inside. Echizen paused next to Atobe and glanced up at the taller third year.

"Ah, big place you have here Mr. Monkey King," Echizen commented with his trademark smirk.

Atobe's jaw dropped slightly but he quickly recovered and let out a chuckle.

"Echizen! Come on! There are snacks!" Momoshiro exclaimed as he grabbed Echizen by his sleeve and started dragging him.

"Momo! Ochibi! Wait for me!" Kikumaru cried out as he chased after them.

Tezuka let out a sigh as he watched them charge through to the snack table. Oishi stopped next to his captain and gave Atobe a meek smile.

"Sorry, they're always energetic."

Atobe tossed his head, "It's nothing."

"_Koshimae!_"

Atobe turned just in time to see a red blur fly by him in the direction of the Seigaku first year.

"I knew you'd come!" Tooyama grinned cheekily as he squeezed Echizen in a tight hug.

"Ah! Get off me!" Echizen struggled as he squirmed in the strong Shitenhoji first year's grasp.

"We need to play a match sometime Koshimae," Tooyama said, ignoring the thrashing boy in his arms.

Momoshiro snickered and reached down to grab a chip when his hand collided with someone else's. His eyes shot up and a scowl crossed his features.

"Oy! Viper! That's mine!"

Kaidoh let out a growl and snatched the chip away from his fellow second year. He popped it into his mouth and bit down on it with a loud crunch.

"You basta-"

"Momo! Calm down!" Kawamura told the two second years with a small smile.

"You're such a pain Viper! I can't stand being around you!" Momoshiro growled.

"The feeling is mutual," Kaidoh hissed back.

"Have any of you seen my brother around?" Fuji asked even though Momoshiro and Kaidoh appeared ready to brawl.

Oishi shook his head, "Not yet."

"Oi! Inui, what are you doing?!" Kikumaru cried out with a horrified gasp.

The Seigaku members turned to see the third year holding one of his trademark pitchers full of glowing green liquid. Inui adjusted his glasses and gave them all a knowing smile.

"I'm not drinking anything," Echizen stated.

The other members of the team nodded in agreement and Fuji chuckled, "Now, now, I don't think Inui would do something as low as spiking the drinks."

Kaidoh and Momoshiro visibly paled along with the rest of the group.

"Kawamura," a gruff voice said.

Kawamura turned to see Akutsu staring at him with a small smirk. Kawamura smiled and reached out his hand. Akutsu took it firmly and gave his friend a nod. From across the room Atobe stood next to Sengoku who was talking about some of their matches that they had played in recently. The Hyotei captain warily watched Akutsu's back as he talked with Kawamura. Atobe's eyebrows shot up when he saw Akutsu reach into his suit jacket's pocket.

"He'd better not smoke in Ore-sama's house," Atobe said dryly.

Sengoku let out a nervous laugh, "Hopefully not, but it's pretty hard to tell Jin what to do."

More people trickled in and Atobe noticed that Fudomine, St. Rudolph, and several of the other Hyotei clubs had arrived. The guests began to mingle and the party started to really get going.

"Oh! I spy some cute girls!" Sengoku exclaimed, eyeing the door as several girls in dresses walked in.

Atobe wanted to roll his eyes but froze when he noticed that the girls coming in were members of Hyotei's bowling team. His throat went dry and after all of the girls had entered he watched as Alice trailed in after them. She looked nervous and Atobe instantly started making his way toward her.

"Oh… lucky Atobe," Sengoku said lowly with a smirk as he watched the Hyotei captain walk quickly away toward the ladies.

"Hi there," Alice said nervously, her eyes shooting to the ground as Atobe stared down at her with wide onyx eyes.

"You look marvelous," Atobe told her seriously.

"Really? I was afraid maybe the black was a bit too dark to be wearing to a party," Alice said quietly.

Atobe shook his head in disagreement as he continued to take in her appearance. She was dressed in a slimming black gown that reached the floor. There were small diamonds encrusted on the center of the chest and her long brunette hair was hanging loosely around her bare shoulders.

"It's simple, yet elegant," Atobe nodded in approval.

Alice let out a deep sigh of relief and spoke, "You look pretty nice yourself."

Atobe smirked, "Of course I do, Ore-sama must always look his best."

Alice let out a small laugh and Atobe held his hand out to her with a grin, "Come with me, I'll show you around."

"You're going to awkwardly introduce me to all of your tennis friends… aren't you?" Alice asked in a slightly disappointed tone.

"Of course, it's only proper to introduce the person I asked to be my companion for the evening."

Alice instantly blushed, companion? What was that supposed to mean?

Before Alice knew it she was mingling throughout the masses of people without any feeling of nervousness. All of the people here seemed incredibly nice and she had talked to several again after being introduced by Atobe. Alice glanced around to see Keiko and other members of the bowling team doing the same with glowing smiles across their features; it was definitely a good time. She saw Atobe moving from group to group and socializing with all of his guests. Alice couldn't help but admire the captain's obvious charisma.

"So how is everything so far this evening?" Keiko asked as she walked up beside her friend.

Alice looked over at her and smiled, "It's actually nothing like I had imagined. I thought it would be dull and quiet while everyone stood around not talking because they didn't know each other."

Keiko nodded and scanned the room, "Well all of these tennis boys seem pretty familiar with each other."

Alice agreed and the pair walked to the refreshments table. Alice and Keiko both grabbed something to drink but Alice paused when she noticed a few of the guys watching her intently.

"Gah! She's noticed us!" Momoshiro whispered quickly to Echizen who rolled his eyes.

Alice slowly raised her cup and took a drink while staring at them with a bizarre look.

"She didn't fall over…" Kikumaru said, "That must mean Inui didn't put anything in the punch!"

Momoshiro heaved a sigh of relief, "Good, I was getting pretty thirsty."

"Koshimae!" Tooyama exploded as he ran up to Echizen with a grin.

"I was just outside and there are _tennis courts_! We should play a match!"

Echizen shrugged, "I don't have my racquet."

Tooyama's face fell, "I don't have mine either."

Alice placed her cup down and evenly spoke, "I bet Atobe has two spares, there is no way he wouldn't."

Momoshrio suspiciously pointed, "Who are you?"

"I go to Hyotei," Alice stated, "And I assume you're one of the other tennis clubs?"

"Seigaku!" Kikumaru winked as he leapt into the middle of the conversation.

"You two," Alice motioned to Tooyama and Echizen, "Are kind of short, aren't you?"

Tooyama grinned, "But our tennis is super awesome!"

Alice tapped her finger to her chin and looked around, "To be honest I'd like to get out of here for a few minutes to get some fresh air. If I find you two racquets… would you come along? I'd really like to see you play."

Tooyama looked as though he was going to explode through the roof as he grinned, "_Yes!_"

"I'm not playing in a suit and dress shoes," Echizen added bluntly with a bit of a pout on his face.

"Aw! Don't do that Koshimae! I'll be wearing the same thing!" Tooyama whined with pleading eyes.

Echizen let out a huff, "I guess if it means getting out of Mr. Monkey King's castle for a few minutes…"

Tooyama jumped in excitement, "Sweet!"

Alice looked pensive as she wondered where Atobe would keep tennis racquets. The answer popped into her mind instantly and she stared up at the grand staircase leading to the next floor.

'I'm going to get lost if I go searching for his room, I've only been up there once and this place is _huge_!' she thought to herself.

Atobe's butler walked by and an idea popped into Alice's head. He knew who she was so if she asked him for something he would most likely comply. She reached out and he turned to her with a smile.

"What can I do for you Ms. Turner?"

Alice looked down at the floor shyly, "Do you have two extra tennis racquets somewhere?"

The butler nodded, "I'll get them right away."

He left and Alice stayed rooted to where she was standing until he returned in a timely fashion. He held out the two racquets and she took them with a smile.

"Thank you!"

Alice turned around and walked back over to her new acquaintances proudly. Tooyama reached out and snatched his with a grin while Echizen slowly approached with a bored look. Alice followed the two short boys to the front door and was followed by Momoshiro and Kikumaru. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that trailing way behind them was a guy with a mean expression.

"Couldn't resist, could you Viper?" Momoshiro teased.

"Shut up," Kaidoh growled back.

It was completely dark outside and Alice spotted the tennis courts which had bright stadium lights shining down onto them. Tooyama sprinted eagerly for the courts while Echizen followed at a laid back walk.

"Are these two really that good?" Alice found herself asking the boys who were behind her.

"Echizen is the super rookie of the east and Kintaro is the super rookie of the west," Momoshiro answered with a grin as Tooyama snatched a tennis ball from a nearby basket.

The red haired rookie began bouncing it on the court with a glowing grin and looked up to Echizen who was still walking to his position on the other side of the court.

"Come on Koshimae! Hurry up!" Tooyama shouted at him.

Echizen halted on his side of the court and turned to face his Shitenhoji counterpart. Alice's jaw dropped as Tooyama served and the two started rapidly hitting the ball back and forth. She couldn't believe how quick and agile they were.

"Super ultra-delicious mountain storm!" Tooyama shouted with a shining grin as he began to spin quickly.

Alice gaped as he flipped through the air and made contact with the ball. The tennis ball flew at Echizen and hit the ground with the sound of an explosion. Echizen side stepped and made contact with the ball as it hit his racquet roughly. A scowl spread across the Seigaku rookie's features as he struggled to not give into the immense power that was pushing against him.

"That Kintaro is as strong as an ox!" Momoshiro smiled.

"But Ochibi is tricky, he always finds a way around big moves like that," Kikumaru commented.

"What are you all doing out here?"

The spectators turned to see Shitenhoji's captain, Kuranosuke Shiraishi walking toward them. He saw Tooyama and Echizen and immediately grinned.

"Those two are at it again, huh? I came looking for Kintaro, I have to keep an eye on him since he's so energetic," Shiraishi said.

Alice stared at the taller boy and noticed that past his cuff he seemed to have bandages wrapped around his hand. She frowned and wondered if he had been injured recently.

"It was a little stuffy inside, so we came out for a break!" Tooyama shouted out to his captain with a grin as he hit another powerful shot Echizen's way.

"Those shoes can't be comfortable to play tennis in," Alice noted as she watched the two boys darting around and making quick maneuvers.

"You were the girl with Atobe earlier, weren't you?" Shiraishi asked.

Alice nodded slowly, "I'm on the bowling team at Hyotei, I'm the captain this year after our previous captain decided to quit."

"Are you guys any good?" Momoshiro asked.

"Eh, well…" Alice trailed off hesitantly, "We can always do better."

"So that's a no…" Momoshiro frowned.

"Momo! Don't be mean," Kikumaru scolded with a small smile.

Kaidoh rolled his eyes and let out a, "Tch!" before turning toward the estate and walking back.

He could see the lights from the chandelier through the grand windows and let out a huff as grabbed the door to let himself back in. The party was still bustling and Kaidoh noticed Atobe walking around as though he was diligently searching for something. He brushed by the Seigaku second year with haste and Kaidoh shook his head; walking over to his captain.

"Kaidoh, where have you been?" Oishi asked from Tezuka's side.

"Echizen and Shitenhoji's rookie are outside on the tennis courts," Kaidoh answered.

"Really?" Fuji interjected as he approached with his brother at his side.

"What's wrong with him?" Kaidoh nodded at Atobe.

"One hundred percent chance he's looking for someone and panicking," Inui spoke.

"Who all is outside?" Kawamura questioned.

"Echizen, Momoshiro, Kikumaru-senpai, Shitenhoji's captain Shiraishi, and some girl from Hyotei," Kaidoh replied shortly.

"A girl from Hyotei?"

Kaidoh turned to see Shishido, Ootori, Mukahi, and Oshitari from Hyotei staring at him.

"Are they outside?"

"Tennis courts," Kaidoh squeezed his fists, instantly becoming irritated.

"Let's go see what they're up to," Oshitari smirked and the others followed him.

Oshitari was really enjoying the episode that was unfolding in front of him. The party had started off great and Atobe and Alice had spent most of the evening together talking to members of various teams. He had watched her leave the captain's side and go off on her own for a bit but she suddenly disappeared. Atobe had noticed it too because of the way he seemed to be making circles around the party looking around intently. Oshitari couldn't help but grin, Alice was torturing his captain and she had no idea. The entire party was to impress her and she was out watching boys from other schools play tennis. Oshitari opened the front door and the group behind him followed him to the tennis courts. He had to admit that her oblivious nature had been amusing for a while but he was quickly feeling sorry for his fellow third year and captain. It was like several books that he had read where the male character was tortured because the female never admitted her feelings or acknowledged his efforts. Oshitari saw Alice watching the two rookies in front of her with bright eyes and he let out a sigh. He was torn between letting everything painfully unfold, or intervening to give the girl a little nudge and help his captain out.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted to make sure I at least updated! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters**

"What showoffs, super _lame_," Shishido said with a small smirk as he watched the two rookies going at it on the tennis court.

Alice turned around to see the third year standing right behind her. She also noticed that almost everyone from the Hyotei regulars was there. Her eyes swept over the boys who were present which told her that Atobe was not there. She knitted her eyebrows tightly, suddenly feeling guilty. Would he be mad? She went outside without saying anything but he had been so wrapped up in socializing she didn't think she would be missed. Alice let out a small sigh, oh well, he'd come find her if he needed her.

"Aw, this makes me want to play!" Momoshiro stomped his feet.

Kikumaru threw his hands up in the air, "Hurray! Go ochibi, go!"

Oshitari stood slightly in a shadow and adjusted his glasses with a small smile. He glanced over his shoulder at the glowing estate behind him and turned back to Alice who clapped as Tooyama scored a point.

"Ah! I got you Koshimae!" Tooyama beamed.

Echizen frowned and didn't reply as he sent a twist serve whizzing for the Shitenhoji first year's face. Tooyama took a step back and hit the ball right back at his opponent.

"They're so agile, quick, and balanced!" Alice exclaimed and turned to Shishido and Ootori, "Can Atobe _really_ play like this?"

"Atobe-buchou is the best on our team," Ootori replied with a smile.

"But can he do _that_?" Alice pointed at Tooyama who flipped and spun through the air weightlessly.

Shishido awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, no."

"There are different kinds of tennis," Ootori quickly spoke up, "He doesn't do any of that but has his own style of tennis."

"Really…" Alice trailed off skeptically.

She could hardly believe that there was anything cooler than flipping through the air acrobatically. Atobe didn't look like he was very acrobatic, rather, he looked sturdy.

"I bet he's a hardy player, isn't he?" Alice found herself asking.

Mukahi, Ootori, and Shishido all nodded in response.

"He has incredible stamina," Mukahi said.

"His eyesight is ridiculously good and he's an all-rounder," Shishido shrugged.

"And his mental game is top notch," Ootori finished.

Alice glanced up at the bright stadium lights, "Well I guess those sound like pretty good things to have."

"If you think that Tooyama kid's flips are great, you should see mine," Mukahi crossed his arms proudly.

"What do you do Shishido?" Alice asked.

Shishido's jaw dropped slightly and he cleared his throat, "I'm a… counter puncher."

Alice raised her eyebrows, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"His dashes are amazing! Shishido-san is really fast!" Ootori grinned as he patted his doubles partner on the shoulder.

"Oh, okay. It's pretty crazy to say, but watching them play kind of inspires me to want to try tennis," Alice said with an embarrassed look.

"That's not crazy!" Ootori exclaimed.

Alice shook her head, "I think I'll stick with what I'm good at."

"You'll have to let us come watch you bowl sometime, maybe we will come to a match!" Ootori grinned.

Alice smiled, "That would be great, Atobe has been to a couple of them."

Oshitari took a few steps forward, that was exactly what he had been waiting for. Now that Alice was back on the right topic, he would smoothly intervene.

"Decided to join us?" Mukahi asked his doubles partner as he emerged from the shadows.

"I was merely watching the game," Oshitari stated with a small shrug.

"You're Oshitari, right?" Alice asked, starting to get the hang of knowing the tennis team members' names.

Oshitari nodded and Alice spoke again, "It's hard not to learn your names when Atobe talks about all of you so much," she gave him a small smile.

"How much time do you two spend together?" Shishido blurted out.

"Eh, not that terribly much, he forces me to have tea with him sometimes, but I can't stand tea… usually I end up watching him and Kabaji drink it."

Mukahi snickered and then seriously said, "If you can ever get your hands on some of those sweets he has… you should definitely bring me some."

"Sweets?" Alice asked.

Oshitari huffed and prepared himself for Mukahi's rant.

"Yes! He eats Gelee Royale after lunch! It's supposed to be amazing! I've never gotten to try it though, our first day when we were first years the entire cafeteria was decorated with tasty sweets everywhere! I ate way too much that day…"

Shishido spoke lowly, "I know you did, it was really annoying especially since I was trying to _talk_ to you about something important, yet you were too busy stuffing your face."

Mukahi rolled his eyes, "Whatever! All you wanted to do was complain about Atobe and how much you couldn't stand him!"

"Really?" Alice asked with a shocked look.

"Ryo hated Atobe when he first came," Mukahi stated as he elbowed Shishido in the side.

"Don't bring that up! Knock it off Gakuto, that's the past now! Super lame!" Shishido huffed.

"I could see how he could rub someone the wrong way. I wasn't really fond of him when I first met him this year," Alice said.

"So you _are_ fond of him now?"

Everyone paused and turned to Oshitari who took a step forward with interest.

"Well… I don't know what you mean by that," Alice stuttered out.

"He's correct, you are a bit dense," Oshitari stated, a smirk growing.

Alice's jaw dropped, "He said I was dense?!"

Oshitari shrugged, "From what I can see he's right."

Alice shook her head, "I don't understand what I'm being dense about, so if you could _enlighten_ me."

"Oh! Can I do it?!" Mukahi raised his hand with a grin.

Oshitari held his own hand up, "You're not stealing my fun Gakuto, I've been waiting for this."

Mukahi shrank down with a disappointed huff and Shishido raised an eyebrow.

"You've been with him outside of school, correct?" Oshitari asked.

Alice nodded slowly and opened her mouth to speak but the dark haired third year continued.

"You also had tea with him, went fly fishing with him, gone to student council meetings with him, he's attended a few of your bowling matches, he asked you to come to his tennis match, he's driven you to and from your home, and bought you a cell phone while insisting you keep in contact with him…" Oshitari trailed off as Alice's eyes grew larger.

"He made this party for her too, didn't he?" Shishido asked.

Oshitari squeezed his fist, "I was getting there Ryo…"

"Sorry," Shishido mumbled.

"Oh! I think a light bulb just went off!" Mukahi teased.

Alice shook her head from side to side as the tennis ball hit the court over and over again in the background.

"There's no way!" Alice exclaimed, "We're just good friends."

"There's a limit to a good friendship, and I think it's fairly obvious to everyone except you that our captain isn't satisfied with the relationship you have now," Oshitari told her.

"You should go on a date with him or something," Shishido said, "I'm sick of him checking his phone all of the time and being distracted at practice and matches. If you were with him he might be a little more focused since he wouldn't be trying to impress you or get you to like him."

"I feel like you guys are forcing me into something," Alice said unsteadily.

"Do you like Atobe-buchou?" Mukahi asked with a suggestive grin.

Alice stepped back, "I like him as a friend!"

"That's not what your bright red cheeks say!"

Alice gaped as she saw Momoshiro and Kikumaru smiling knowingly at her.

"You eavesdroppers!"

Kikumaru shrugged, "Nya! We couldn't help but overhear!"

"I thought he seemed quite into you when he was walking around with you earlier," Shiraishi entered the conversation and added lowly, "Ahh, romance… such ecstasy."

"I think this entire party knows my business," Alice moaned.

"You're making it too difficult, go talk to him," Ootori said, "He won't shoot you down, I know it!"

"Why doesn't he talk to me instead?!" Alice exclaimed, "I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"He _has_ been talking to you, just indirectly," Oshitari told her, "Haven't you ever read a romance story?"

"Obviously I'm not good with these kinds of things, I've never really liked a guy before, and I certainly don't think I should be talking about my feelings with a bunch of boys that play tennis with him!"

Oshitari sighed, he had had enough, "Either you go talk to him, or we will make a very public announcement inside which will embarrass you in front of dozens of guests rather than just one person."

Alice gasped, "How could you?!"

Oshitari shrugged, "I needed to do something out of respect for my captain and my friend."

"You…" Alice trailed off before running as fast as she could in her heels to the manor.

…

"Absolutely not! Ore-sama will be the one to defeat Tezuka!"

"No, it will be me, only one person can be at the top and be number one."

Niou snickered behind his vice-captain as he argued with Atobe and glanced over at Tezuka who was looking at the pair with an obvious frown.

"They're fighting over you again…" Yukimura told Tezuka with a small laugh as he passed by.

The Seigaku captain shook his head slowly, having no idea what the big deal was about. Both of them always seemed so intent on playing him. Atobe and Sanada continued to shoot comments back and forth between one another as Tezuka tried to step away silently from the area.

"Let's ask Tezuka who he sees as a worthy opponent!" Atobe exclaimed.

Sanada huffed, "You're absolutely insane."

"Sanada, isn't Kirihara a little too close to that champagne?"

The vice-captain paused when he heard Niou's voice and looked over to the pyramid of glasses.

"Shall I scold him?" Niou smirked, "I can do an excellent imitation of you."

Sanada sighed, "Make sure he doesn't cause trouble."

"I think it's too late for that," Yagyu said as he adjusted his glasses.

Atobe turned to look across the room where his eyebrows shot up in surprise. Alice as standing in front of the pyramid looking around just as Kirihara reached out to touch one of the shiny glasses on the other side. Before he could think he was already running in her direction as Kirihara's grin grew. With one touch a glass fell to the floor with a crash. Sanada, Niou, and Yagyu watched with raised eyebrows as the glass pyramid began to quiver.

"Kirihara!" Sanada practically hissed out.

The second year saw the glass trembling and immediately took off; fleeing the scene with an ecstatic laugh. Alice heard the cackle and turned around. She then heard a voice yelling at her and spun around to see Atobe charging toward her. It was then that the tinkling of glass hit her ears and her heart bottomed out as she realized what was towering over her from behind. There was a loud crash and gasps echoed though the room as the pyramid of champagne glasses toppled over. Alice let out a grunt as she was roughly tackled to the ground and winced as she felt cold liquid splash down onto her.

"Pupina!" Niou stuck out his tongue, "Look at those two."

"Did you know Atobe had a girlfriend?" Yagyu questioned his doubles partner.

Niou smirked, "We do now."

Sanada shook his head, "I don't believe it, how would a girl be interested in someone like him?"

There was a pop in the vice-captain's ear and he turned to see a green bubble next to him.

"All of the girls are scared of you, how would you know anything about what they like?" Marui asked with a small smile.

Sanada's eyes shot to the floor and he desperately wished he had his cap to pull down over his eyes at that moment.

"Buchou! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine Jiro," Atobe said as he slowly sat up; shards of glass falling off of his back onto the ground.

Alice was on her back staring at the ceiling as Atobe pulled himself to his knees and stood. He leaned down and held out his hand, pulling her up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her with a serious look.

"Other than being humiliated, I'm fine," Alice spoke lowly, "And I'm soaked."

Atobe snapped his fingers, "Kabaji, bring me a towel."

"Usu!"

The Hyotei captain's onyx eyes searched the room before they landed on Kirihara who was hiding behind Yagyu and Jackal.

"That brat," Atobe growled lowly as he stared down at his ruined suit.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters, however, Alice is someone that I created!**

"Thanks Kabaji," Atobe said as he grabbed the fluffy towel that was handed to him.

Atobe put the towel around Alice's shoulders and narrowed his eyes at the mess in front of him. The floor was drenched and broken glass was in piles on the ground. His onyx eyes shot to Kirihara who was now hiding behind Inui and Yanagi.

"He should be the one to clean this mess up," Atobe grumbled.

"Atobe-san, I apologize," Yukimura stepped forward with an apologetic smile.

"It's not a big deal," Alice spoke up.

Atobe turned to her with raised eyebrows, "You were almost impaled by shards of glass, how is that not a big deal?"

Alice shrugged, "I'm not saying I enjoyed it, but it's not monumental like you're making it out to be."

"Yeowch! Sanada! Stop it!"

Atobe and Alice looked up to see the disgruntled vice-captain dragging Kirihara by his messy black hair. He stopped in front of the pair and dropped the second year.

"Kirihara…" Sanada trailed off with a menacing expression.

"Oh, all right! I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to make such a mess! No matter how bad I wanted to touch those shiny glasses…"

"He'll assist in the cleanup," Sanada stated dryly.

Atobe raised his hand, "Not necessary."

"Sanada, don't be too hard on him," Alice told the vice-captain.

Sanada's eyes shot down as she looked at him and he gruffly grabbed Kirihara's collar, "We're going."

After Kirihara's destruction, the party began to slow down. People were saying their goodbyes as it was getting late and they trickled out of the estate. Momoshiro and Kikumara waved with suggestive grins as they left and Alice's cheeks flushed.

"Alice! Are you alright?!" Keiko rushed to her friend's side as the party began to dwindle, "Do you need me to take you home?"

"I'm fine," Alice answered with a smile, "You don't need to do that."

"Let's get you upstairs into something dry," Atobe said to her suddenly, "You shouldn't be in wet clothes for too long, you'll get sick."

Alice opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Her eyes traveled to the side where she saw Oshitari leaning casually against the wall staring at her. He gave her a small smile and nod. Keiko grinned at her friend knowingly and gave her a little wave.

"Follow Ore-sama," Atobe motioned as he started to walk up the grand staircase.

Alice grabbed the railing and her knees trembled as she realized the bottoms of her shoes were still wet and slick. With every step she took up the staircase her heels slid on the smooth surface and the bowling captain held onto the rail for dear life. She stared at Atobe's back as he marched up the stairs and paused at the top to look back at her. She narrowed her eyes and concentrated on her balance as she arrived at the top next to him.

"Let's go to my room, Ore-sama will get you something dry to put on."

Alice swallowed dryly and felt like someone was punching her in the gut repeatedly. Oshitari's face flashed in her mind and his words echoed in her thoughts. Alice shuddered and continued to follow the tennis captain as he pushed open his door and motioned for her to go inside.

"You can use my bathroom and clean up, Ore-sama will be back," he gave her a small smile, "I need to get the cleanup started downstairs."

Alice nodded silently and watched as he left the room and closed the door softly behind him. She stood in the quiet room and slowly turned to take in the bedroom surrounding her. Atobe's walls were an off white and his bed was a gigantic king size with a golden pattern on it. He had stacks of pillows organized neatly at the head of it and a nightstand with an antique light was in close proximity. Alice knelt down and removed her shoes with a relieved sigh as her feet touched the soft carpet on the floor. She glanced up to see a cream colored couch against the far wall and an expensive looking desk with an office chair next to it. Alice stood back up and walked slowly to the bathroom where the door was slightly ajar. She pushed it open and reached for the light which flipped on instantly. Atobe's bathroom was bright white with gold trim. His bathtub and shower were both a crisp white with shiny gold handles and knobs. Alice reached out and turned the water in the sink on and let it run a few seconds as it turned hot.

"Ah, that feels good," she mumbled out as she splashed the water on her face with a smile.

The champagne on her had grown sticky as it dried and she felt gritty. Alice glanced at the bathtub and shower behind her hesitantly. Atobe _did_ tell her to clean up, and there was no way she could do the job well using a washcloth and the sink.

"I won't be long," Alice mumbled as she turned one of the ornate knobs in the shower and hot water started to shoot out.

The bowling captain quickly slipped out of her sopping dress and left it in the floor. She stepped out of her panties which were also soaked and left them on top of the dress. With a swift movement Alice jumped into the shower and pulled the glass door shut as steam began to fill the bathroom.

…..

"Thanks for inviting us Atobe."

"It was good having you here, Tezuka," Atobe nodded with a small smile.

"Are you sure you don't need any help cleaning this up?" Oishi asked seriously.

Atobe shook his head, "Nonsense, Ore-sama invited you here for a party, not for you to clean up a mess."

Most of the guests had left the estate with the exception of Seigaku and the Hyotei regulars. Tezuka's team walked up behind him and he turned to them with a nod as they all followed him out the front door. Atobe spun around to see his house in shambles. A small smirk came to his face, it wouldn't have been a good party if there wasn't some type of mess to clean up.

"What are you all doing?" Atobe called out to his teammates.

All of them paused and Akutagawa spoke up, "We're helping you buchou!"

Atobe tossed his head, "Ore-sama doesn't need help, that's what my staff is for."

"Where's Alice? She disappeared," Ootori asked as he looked around the empty room.

"She's probably upstairs in Atobe-buchou's bedroom or something," Mukahi snickered.

A few of the other members couldn't help but chuckle and Atobe's eyebrow twitched. Oshitari watched his captain's reaction and a smile graced his lips as he realized that was exactly where the girl was.

"Perhaps you should go clean up," Oshitari suggested.

"Your suit looks awful," Shishido commented, "You should definitely change."

Atobe eyed the boys looking at him suspiciously and watched as a few of his servants appeared. They began picking up pieces of broken glass and Michael appeared with a mop to start cleaning up the champagne.

"Watch them Kabaji…" Atobe trailed off as he started walking to the stairs.

"Usu!"

"Ore-sama is getting the feeling you all are up to something, ahn?" Atobe asked over his shoulder as he continued up to the second floor.

"Go clean yourself up," Hiyoshi huffed.

Atobe made his way to his room and opened the door. He supposed his teammates were right, his suit was starting to stick to his skin and it was getting extremely uncomfortable. The captain closed the door behind him and froze when he heard a familiar noise coming from his bathroom. Atobe's eyebrows shot up and his pupils grew in size as he instantly recognized what it was.

…..

Alice hummed with a relaxed expression as the hot water ran down her skin; washing away the champagne residue. She opened one eye and looked at the rack on the wall which held shampoo and body wash. Alice paused as she realized both bottles were for men and scented for them too. She liked the smell on guys, but on her? That was a completely different story. She was afraid she would offend Atobe somehow by using his washcloth, towel, and his shampoos. Alice swallowed and hesitantly reached for one of the black bottles. She popped the cap and lightly sniffed as hot water continued to pound down on her back. A frown creased her features and she shrugged slightly, she was already in his shower so she might as well continue to do what she had planned to do from the start. Alice squeezed the bottle and dark blue shampoo fell into her palm. Masculine scent immediately hit her nostrils and she began to lather it into her hair. Alice started to hum again until she heard the muffled sound of a door closing. She froze and felt like she had been kicked in the gut.

"He's back?!" Alice exclaimed quietly to herself, looking from side to side; panicking.

It was too late and Alice knew she had been caught red handed. She felt really guilty because she was in her friend's shower which was in his _bedroom_. It was completely scandalous and unlike her. Alice wanted to slap herself, why couldn't she have just stuck to the sponge bath in the sink?! There was a light knock on the door and Alice opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"Is everything okay in there? Ore-sama brought you some dry clothes," an unsteady voice said.

Alice stumbled forward and yanked the glass door open so she could poke her head out into the foggy bathroom.

"Atobe! I'm so sorry! I was all sticky and gross, I thought I could take a quick shower, and I… well, I'm extremely embarrassed at the moment," Alice blabbed out as she reached out for the towel hanging on the wall.

"It was really rude of me to intrude like that, I'm sorry, I'll get out of here as soon as a can!" Alice exclaimed as she heard a chuckle on the other side of the door.

"You're so oblivious, did you think Ore-sama would be upset?" Atobe asked her.

"Well… yes," Alice stated frankly.

"You know nothing then… the girl I like can use whatever she wants of mine, Ore-sama has no problem with it."

Alice almost fell out into the floor at his words, it was true! She couldn't believe she was hearing first hand from the source that Keigo Atobe actually _did_ like her. A variety of emotions hit the second year as she struggled to realize what that meant.

"I'm going to open the door and put dry clothes on the hamper, finish up, no need to rush," Atobe said as the doorknob started to turn.

Alice jerked back and dropped the towel into the floor. She quickly closed the glass door and stepped back under the hot flowing water with huge eyes. Shakily she grabbed the body wash and finished washing up as fast as she could. She shut the water off and stepped out onto the bathmat carefully. Alice toweled herself and her hair dry as much as possible before turning to the clothes laid out for her.

"These are your tennis clothes!" Alice exclaimed.

Atobe heard her from where he was sitting in his room and smirked, "Calm down, it's my uniform from when I was a first year. It should be small enough to fit you."

Alice gaped as she held up the shirt and stared at it. He was right, it was definitely too small to fit him currently. Atobe tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk and he turned quickly as he heard the bathroom door open.

"Perfect fit, ahn?" Atobe asked, pleased with himself.

Alice blushed harshly, she was wearing _his_ clothes in _his_ bedroom after she had just finished bathing in _his_ shower! She felt so indecent.

"Ore-sama needs to clean up as well, but I won't take nearly as long," he winked as he brushed by her.

Alice squeezed her soiled dress that she was holding in her hands and sat down heavily on the foot of his bed. She was exhausted and wanted to go to sleep.

….

Atobe emerged from his bathroom about ten minutes later with his towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was damp and clung to the damp skin around his neck while the rest of his body glistened with moisture. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he saw Alice on her back with her eyes closed. Her mouth was open and she was breathing deeply. He smirked and walked by her as he approached his closet. The door slid open and Alice bolted upright at the sound with a dazed expression on her face.

"Did I doze off?" she asked as she blinked.

"It looks that way," Atobe replied smugly, "Now turn around, Ore-sama needs to get dressed."

Alice turned away with bright red cheeks and a horrified expression. A few minutes passed and Atobe's voice broke the silence.

"Now that you're aware how I feel," Atobe started in English, "I believe I'm inclined to know how you feel."

Alice turned to see him staring at her with intent eyes and her heart began to pound. She wanted to run out of the room screaming because she had no idea what to do… but it was about time for her to suck it up and face her fears.

"I'll be honest," Alice answered, also in English, "You're the only person that makes me feel like I'm about to have a heart attack when I'm around you. It seems like the more time I spend around you, the more I get tongue tied, my heart pounds, and I feel sick to my stomach."

Atobe frowned, "Ore-sama makes you sick to your stomach?"

Alice's jaw dropped, "That's not what I meant! You make me nervous!"

A grin spread across Atobe's features, "You know what that means, right?"

"Your teammates informed me," Alice grumbled lowly.

"When did you talk with them?"

Alice glanced at the window where it was dark out, "When we went outside to the tennis courts for a while."

Atobe's eyebrow shot up, "Ore-sama wondered where you wandered off to…"

"I was with a few of the people from Seigaku, and the red head from Shitenhoji," Alice told him, "They started playing a match. It was pretty fun to watch."

"Who?"

"The red head, and the shorter guy from Seigaku, oh, I know our players' names but not theirs!" Alice said in frustration.

"You mean Tooyama from Shitenhoji and Echizen from Seigaku," Atobe told her.

"That Tooyama was amazing! He practically floats in the air while doing all kinds of flips! Echizen was good as well! He's crafty and really skilled!"

Atobe scowled as he watched Alice's eyes glitter as she talked about what she witnessed. He felt a jealous monster growing inside of him and he didn't like it. Alice had yet to see him play tennis in a match situation and he wanted to awe her with _his_ skills, not have her gawk at a couple of first years from other schools.

"Let's go downstairs and see if that mess has been cleaned up, Ore-sama also wants to make sure that the _others_ aren't causing trouble down there," Atobe said lowly to try and change the topic.

Alice turned to him with a frown as he started to walk out of the room. He turned sour quickly. She ascended the stairs to see the Hyotei regulars hanging around talking to each other. They all became silent as they spotted their captain.

"No way!" Mukahi exclaimed with a grin, "She's wearing our uniform?"

"It's official," Hiyoshi muttered.

"Good for them!" Ootori smiled as Shishido shook his head.

Oshitari looked at the two suggestively and adjusted his glasses.

"Is everything going smoothly down here?" Atobe asked as he saw that the mess had nearly been cleaned up.

"Looks that way," Alice noted.

"It was an amazing party buchou!" Akutagawa grinned.

Atobe immediately puffed out his chest, "What kind of person would Ore-sama be if I couldn't throw a good party? Ahn?"

"So…" Mukahi trailed off, glancing at Oshitari.

The dark haired third year reached up and loosened his tie, "Atobe, everyone wants to know what's going on, you might as well tell them or they'll keep harassing you."

Atobe sighed and ran his fingers through his clean hair. He was exhausted and his teammates were draining the last few drops of energy he had. His eyes popped open suddenly and he straightened his shoulders.

"Alright, if you want a show, Ore-sama will give you a show, right Kabaji?"

"Usu!" the tall second year responded quickly.

"Although I'm not dressed properly," Atobe started as he walked over to his grand staircase, "My prowess is undeniable, so I can still perform," he winked.

The Hyotei team and Alice watched with confused expressions as the tennis captain made his way to the top of the stairs. He spun around quickly and looked down at them like a king looked down on his subjects. Atobe slowly raised his hand until he was pointing down at Alice with a smug expression. She stared back up at him and a nervous pit welled in her stomach, what was he going to do next?

"Alice Turner, Ore-sama is enamored by you and I've come to the realization that I in fact like you. You should feel privileged, it takes a lot to satisfy me and in the time I've spent with you, you've done just that. Therefore, Ore-sama is going to ask you, will you go out with me? I know you're interested too, ahn?" he proclaimed loudly so it boomed through the estate.

Alice stared up at the tennis captain and felt her jaw drop. She was silent and couldn't find the words to speak.

"Answer him!" Ootori whispered quickly.

Shishido turned to see that the girl had frozen up and he gave her a small nudge in the back.

"Anytime now…" Mukahi trailed off impatiently.

Alice found herself nodding, "I will… yes!"

Atobe grinned proudly and pointed one finger into the air, "Behold my incredible prowess."

Alice wanted to slap her forehead, what a guy. She knew that she would never meet anyone as flashy and full of himself as Atobe and she had to admit, she was just fine with that because now he was hers. Oshitari let out a sigh and smiled.

"I guess it's time to find another novel to read now that this story has played out," he said lowly.


End file.
